Of the Lesser Son
by YaDingus
Summary: <html><head></head>Kaguya was a sore loser. Plain and simple. Now wandering the lands of a place called Remnant, Naruto finds himself stuck between helping the people of this new world and returning home. Considering his powers essentially equaled a nuke among homemade explosives it may just be easier to assist than he first thought. But things are never so simple at first glance...</html>
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: RWBY and Naruto are owned by their own respective creators, of which I am not one.

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

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><p>The black, boxy portal floating in the middle of the sky began to dissolve after only a moment's time, square edges folding together and disappearing completely just as a golden object shot out of like a speeding cannonball. With a string of curses floating through the air the ejected thing came to a halt, jerking in place from the force, before spinning and flying back to where the supernatural tear formerly resided. Like a hummingbird it darted around searching for any sign of the doorway before releasing another loud expletive and slowing to a halt midflight. Far below was a veritable sea of sand; a vast desert filled with nothing but large dunes and the occasional rock. There weren't even any signs of civilization on the horizon and he was so high up with the better vantage point!<p>

With a deep sigh, Naruto Uzumaki descended to the barren wasteland below and undid the gold and black transformation gifted to him through the power of _the_ sage himself Hagaromo Oototsuki. The burden of releasing his Six Paths Sage Technique's potent chakra, coupled with the fact he'd been fighting against a bevy of overpowered enemies one after the other (and theoretically died for a few minutes, couldn't forget that either) caused the creeping exhaustion kept at bay to finally hit now that things were quiet and his body wasn't reacting to a fight.

He would've preferred something more bearable instead of having dry and humid wind coated with gritty particles blasting him in the face but it was all that damn Kaguya's fault. She just _had_ to go and have a hissy fit when Naruto and Sasuke finally sealed her away thanks to Kakashi's timely Susano'o intervention. With her own chakra running low due to the taxing burden of excessive teleporting and dimension warping, the godly woman returned to the Elemental Nations to recharge while using her link to the Shinjuu actively draining the entire continent dry of its 'stolen' energy...a pity the others were able to follow but it simply made it easier for her to take their power in the long run. Partly merging with the transformed Ten-tails had ultimately been her downfall; being rooted deep into the planet meant the prehistoric biju, and in conjunction herself, could no longer move about freely. But with two Mangekyo constructs and a man able to use the collective consciousness and chakra of nine separate biju keeping her busy, it was only a matter of time.

The former princess slipped up and forgot one simple thing. A minor, minor weakness her doujutsu possessed which normally was dwarfed by her deity-like abilities:

The Byakugan's blind spot.

Nature chakra gained by his powerful transformation helped keep Naruto cloaked as he surrounded the tree/human hybrid with a massive onslaught of clones. The Uchiha got in close with his Susano'o tengu's flaming blade while Kakashi's quickly sliced through the main branch of the root that everybody trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi was attached to, held in place by Sakura's immense strength so the cut was clean and efficient. It was dangerous and highly risky but then again, what else did the resistance have left to lose? Sasuke managed to stab dead center into the thick trunk below their enemy's torso, his ethereal weapon channeling the power of the dark crescent moon tattooed on his left palm through it just as the mass of bunshin descended on what remained of Kaguya's real body.

She easily dispelled the mob with her Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu (**All-Killing Ash Bones**) but nearly missed the small kunai shooting towards the back of her head in the commotion. Just before it hit she turned to grab the knife but instead met with the original Uzumaki's bare ass in her face exploding out of the henge smoke. The few seconds of shock the unconventional mooning bought him allowed Naruto to twist around and pierce her right in the Sharingan/Rinnegan dead center of Kaguya's forehead with one of his staff-lengthened Gudōdama (**Truth-Seeking Balls**). Like his rival, the blond shinobi channeled his half of the Rikudo Sennin's power through the weapon as the white moon on his right palm alit with a ghostly glow.

Knowing she was about to lose it all again the bitter female ripped open one last tear in reality and unleashed a powerful wave of chakra that could have been considered to be her 'death rattle' as the third eye on her face slowly closed, a sure sign Kaguya had lost it all. Sasuke was anchored in place thanks to his Susano'o but the poor floating jinchuriki was blasted away like a gnat. It was the last act of a desperate villain yet again being sealed from the world. If only she hadn't wasted so much energy teleporting around...already her sons' shared Chibaku Tensei (**Heavenly Body Bursting From The Earth**) created at the exact moment of sealing was beginning to rip apart the earth. The invasion of her children's chakra simultaneously began burning through the amalgamation of energy beast and person and it would only take another moment for Oototsuki Kaguya to be shut away in the primordial beast's instinctual mind. But as long as Zetsu existed it was possible to bring her back.

So to keep this same fate from happening a _third _time at some point in the future...the Rabbit Goddess did something she was forced to do only once before so very long ago and sent one of the annoying bugs into another dimension. Let's just see a Kamui try and find the person she stranded _this_ time. The black half of Zetsu already fled its shelter in her sleeve but her loyal creature understood what part it had to play. Even as the earth around them cracked apart to form the new shell of a second moon and her thoughts grew sluggish and broken, and the biju were somehow removed from her body and allowed freedom once more, she knew she would still have the last laugh regarding the fate of the world...

No matter how long it took.

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><p>Hunkered down on his knees with his back to the wind, Naruto reached into his small pack and retrieved one of his oldest possessions besides good old Gama-chan. The ninja never knew if he'd ever need the green goggles of his youth again but the foresight of keeping them around for nostalgic value finally paid off. Adjusting the straps, he pulled them over his eyes and sighed in relief that the grains couldn't irritate those bright blues of his anymore. Next he undid the long black cloth tied around his forehead and wrapped the length of it around his mouth and nose in a makeshift bandanna, no longer having to breathe in so much of the messy air either. Re-zipping his tattered black and orange jacket allowed him to duck his chin into the thick black collar for an added layer of protection too. At the moment it was the best he could do until Naruto figured out his next course of action.<p>

Low on chakra for the first time in awhile meant he was stuck wandering the wasteland for the time being.

Running a tired hand through the messy blond spikes on top of his scalp, the sage took another look around before shaking his head. Just great. That bitch had sent him into the beginnings of a damn sandstorm and he had no idea how to get back home. As far as he knew they'd won; Kaguya was in the process of being sealed away as they hoped and the Shinjuu was essentially out of commission. They could manage without him until he made his grand reentrance. So, hopefully if he picked a direction and started walking he'd either find society...or at least some type of shelter before the elements swallowed him whole to never be seen again.

But with every step the footprint was consumed up by the shifting dunes and ever increasing fury of the gale. The heat was also a nuisance and no matter how much he walked, everything looked the same through his darkened lenses. Already thirst was starting to set in as body fluids continuously left through his pores in an effort to cool down the temperature. Was this what Gaara and the others had to deal with all the time? Screw that. The sand was getting _everywhere _and only exacerbated the situation.

"THIS FREAKING SUCKS!" he cried out angrily, muffled voice unable to be heard over the wind while shaking his fist towards the concealed sky. All this power he obtained to save his friends and yet it currently couldn't do squat to get him back to the proper realm nor even find out if he was completely isolated. Meditating to find energy signatures in sage mode and maybe even get some rest was a terrible idea, unless of course he wanted to be buried alive while sitting around like a statue. Hell, no matter how loud he yelled no one would probably hear him over this mess.

He was partly wrong, but in the weakened state the blond boy remained blissfully unaware.

Most of the shifting sand was caused by natural occurrences but every time Naruto moved something picked up on the slight vibrations his weight created and began stalking his path. Contrary to the ninja's belief, the area was not as devoid of life as it appeared. They were just...hidden away, suited to the harsh environment unlike the yellow-haired male and his temperate homeland. Had the warrior been able to see unhindered, or able to pay better attention to his surroundings, it was possible the teenager would have realized the ground behind him was rising and parting _not_ because of the inclement weather.

A glowing golden stinger slowly dug itself out from the sand followed by a black exoskeleton in the shape of a massive scorpion with dusty white plates covering most of its form. The starchy, thick bonelike armor with red markings appeared eroded, pitted, and worn down; possible results of living in the severe location for years upon years. Large mandibles flexed in anticipation as the great beast slowly caught up with its target, joined by three other similar monsters as a multitude dull orange eyes focused on the lone human wandering through their territory.

The one in the lead tensed as its pincers clicked together before violently stabbing forward with its tail. But instead of piercing the small target and leaving his body to be swallowed up by the sands, Konoha's maverick dove out of the way of the dangerous tip and took off at a sprint. No matter how much effort the giant scorpions took to try and conceal themselves in the sandstorm they were all still _big fucking arthropods. _Even a goof like Naruto eventually realized something was amiss at the very last second as he constantly turned his head to look around and noticed faint but large shapes coming up the rear through the sandy haze.

Part of him thought it might just be his mind playing tricks. The other half was still on edge in the strange new land and with every right to be. There was no feeling of ill intent, or fluctuation in energy...in fact, there was absolutely no sign that these things could be sensed at all. If that didn't set of warning bells then nothing would. His instincts hadn't really failed him before so when one of the huge silhouettes suddenly darted forward Naruto knew it was time to move. A quick leap put the dirtied blond out of harm's way and the chase was on. Segmented legs skittered silently over the sands as the monsters moved in pursuit, however they were completely unfamiliar with the abilities of a shinobi as well as the utmost fact the blond boy was really somebody you didn't want to mess with.

Even in his weakened state.

Tapping into the dregs of his chakra, Naruto rushed deeper into the huge volume of airborne sand only for seven copies to leap back out again with fire in their hidden eyes. Four remained at ground level. The remaining three plus the original jumped high above out of sight. The large animals didn't even pause at the sudden intrusion of new prey; each fake jinchuriki quickly broke off and targeted one of the trailing scorpions to draw their attention and keep them busy while high above their counterparts started the attack. Good thing those stingers lit up bright enough to see even in this storm because it gave the quartet of Narutos a landing zone as each one created a large ball of spinning chakra about the size of an overinflated basketball cupped against their palms. Gravity brought them all zipping back to the earth and in tandem drove the energy attacks right into the chitinous pale overlay wrapped around the creatures as they landed.

"Oodama Rasengan (**Big Ball Spiraling Sphere**)!"

The multiple ninjutsu drilled into the thick armor before suddenly expanding into gigantic versions of the technique with the kinetic force of a bomb. Every single scorpion was shoved deeply into the sand as their backs simply ceased to exist under the onslaught, with the drill-like effect of the chakra grinding away their bodies in a spray of chalky, vibrant blood staining the new craters formed underneath their figures. As the attack ended with the predators' remains now mostly just disjointed legs, separated tails, and sets of unattached pincers missing just about all of their midsection, the male landed on his feet with his clones popped away into smoke. Breathing a sigh of relief Naruto was glad he still had enough juice left to take out the strange animals stalking his steps. As big as they were he figured the stronger rasengan would do the job (as evidence now suggested). Their plating had been so thick it was a guess whether or not the regular version would do more than just scrape away the shell.

The only way to really know was to find some more of the freakishly colored animals and test it out...which he would _not_ be doing for as long as the shinobi could help it.

Watching silently as the beasts' remnants began to disintegrate and were slowly overtaken by the blowing sand Naruto was forced to take a knee as a fresh wave of fatigue struck his body. The humidity was making it hard to breathe even though his veil and the ninja's throat was in dire need of refreshments. It felt like ages since he last ate or drank anything. But, like a genie granting its master's wish, he swore a water bottle appeared right in front of his face...hovering there...tantalizingly, just waiting for the man to take it for himself. It even shook a few times before growing irritated at the blond's lack of movement and thrust itself right into his nose hard enough to jar him from his self-pity.

Scowling Naruto swiped his hand out and grabbed the blasted item only to stop and stare at it after blatantly comprehending it was real. Peering further than his nose revealed an outstretched arm, which in turn was attached to a person swaddled in thick protective wrappings staring down at him from behind their own biker-styled goggles. Blinking in surprise the blond looked around, noticing others checking the broken remains of the dangerous beings while a few stood protectively around with their weapons not-so-blatantly trained on the unfamiliar kneeling shinobi. The swords and such he understood, but the sight of the oblong, hollow metal cylinders sort of aimed in his direction were completely foreign to him.

But that didn't matter right now. Instead the Uzumaki reached up to tug an opening in his layered headband and inserted the mouth of the bottle, allowing the cool sweet liquid to flow down his throat and drain it dry in only a few big gulps. A hand at his elbow gently but firmly helped Naruto to his feet as he dropped the empty container before steering him away from the evaporating corpses, occasionally having to catch the tired warrior when he stumbled. Starting in the direction the blue-eyed warrior originated from it wasn't long before the party arrived at what Naruto would later learn to be a hydraulic sand skiff used for fast travel through the desert. Something that could match the speed of a sprinting ninja, but came with the added benefit of not wasting energy trying to move about under the scorching sun like an idiot uninformed about the dangers of the unforgiving atmosphere.

No matter who these people were, they were currently his saviors. Good or bad...whatever their intentions, it wasn't like the boy could just escape later on once he recovered a bit. Settling down on the wide platform while the last of the...bandits? Soldiers? Mercenaries? Locals?...whoever they were, hopped on, the one who originally gave him the drink raising a finger in the air and quickly spun it in a few tight circles. At the unspoken sign the engine started up with a roar and they were off to parts unknown.

Naruto jolted in his seat, unfamiliar with the contraption skimming over the surface without trouble. But after fifteen minutes passed and the heavy fog of the storm thinned to the point he could actually see the man was able to lift his goggles without fear of getting something in his eyes. The gesture left a wide tattoo around his sockets, the sand sticking to his face making him look like a raccoon. Some of the people snickered as they got a good look at him before turning their sight back to destination quickly growing in the distance. In a few moments they were entering a high-walled city he'd have never found on his own, stopping at some form of security checkpoint before continuing on.

The wide streets were surprisingly filled with people and traffic despite the midday heat and constant attack of the sun's rays. Naruto had to wonder a few times if he was seeing things again, because he would've sworn there were a few residents walking around with horns or animal ears poking out from their heads. There was no time to dwell on the matter though as the vehicle pulled up to a large business building and he was pushed inside. Now noticing that those working within wore sharp suits and gleaming badges, talking to civilians and escorting handcuffed criminals through the halls, the wayward jinchuriki groaned and finally understood where he had been taken and who had found him.

It was a flipping police station.

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><p>"So let me get this straight. You claim you're from another dimension. That you just barely survived a war and the enemy somehow opened a 'portal' and knocked you through at the last second, dropping you off in an unfamiliar desert where a squad of my patrolmen eventually sensed a large release of aura, aka YOU, in the middle of a dust storm and so they were forced to put their own lives on the line to check whether or not somebody was dumb enough to be there. Lo and behold it was the truth, finding the bare remains of four Deathstalkers and you calmly in the middle of it all. Not only that but you somehow did it using just a dinky little knife and, as you <em>claim<em>, the power of aura in a highly destructive manner far stronger than ever documented."

The grizzled man pointed out the interrogation room's clear window where three cops stood guard while another went through his item pouch per standard regulation. Poor Gama-chan had been emptied of its contents and _The Legend of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi_ had been set off to the side for later scrutiny. The only weapon they'd found during the pat down was the one winched inside his jacket. Honestly it was the only kunai he had left; the weapon pack normally taped to his thigh had been lost long ago during the battle for the biju and he never really kept any others hidden on his person.

"Do you really expect me to believe all that?" he asked blandly, causing Naruto to frown and lean forward in the uncomfortable chair he was seated on.

"I told you it's called chakra, not aura. A knife wouldn't have done much against their armor so I didn't even try to use it at all. And yes I do. Why the hell would I make any of it up?"

"I've never heard of any dimensional travel taking place besides fiction, but then again I've never set foot too far outside of Oasis before or even Vacuo for that matter so I'm not exactly up to date on any scientific breakthroughs. I bet it's still a no though." The interrogator slapped down a few photographs on the table between the two showcasing the bony shells of these 'Deathstalkers' taken up close from different angles. It was all that was left after the bodies had vanished. "But most importantly, there's no way aura or chakra or whatever you want to call it could effectively erase a creature of Grimm like this by itself. These monsters' hides are far too tough to break unless you have a proper weapon or immense aura control. I simply cannot believe one person destroyed them, by himself, _without_ a high-yield weapon to augment their strength."

"Well from where I come from it's not hard to believe a person could use their own energy or even bare fists to break through rock and steel."

"And I'm telling you _aura _just doesn't let you grind the Grimm into nothing!" There was no give with this disillusioned kid! He was way too thickheaded, stuck in that fantasy world he created involving ninjas and other realities, and his aura was so powerful that probably everybody in the city could feel it. No matter how many times they corrected him he stubbornly refused to acknowledge it.

"Chakra!" Naruto countered, standing up and slamming his palm against the desk. The officer was immediately on his feet ready to respond to the incoming threat but neither continued to move, only staring at each other with tense eyes. With an annoyed snort Naruto disregarded the other's wariness and dropped back into his seat with arms crossed over his chest like a huffy child.

Feeling his eye twitch the cop slowly un-tensed and sat back down himself. "Of course..." he said with a sigh, writing more additions on the police report that was clearly running out of space. Oh, that was another thing the sage had noticed about this place. They spoke the same language, although certain things were different, and the writing system was made up of completely unrecognizable characters. Silence reigned for a moment before the tapping of a pen against wood was heard as the older man ran a hand through his dark hair.

Somebody knocked on the door, breaking the tension before slowly opening the thick wooden object. In walked a woman dressed in a white dress shirt and black slacks, long brown hair pulled back into a bun and slightly droopy green eyes. She was kind of pretty but what made Naruto's jaw drop open was the pair of _dog_ _ears _poking out from the sides of her skull that hung down like Akamaru's covered in soft brown fur. She noticed his look of shock and promptly stiffened before ignoring it and addressing her senior.

"Sir there's a bit of a problem regarding this young man. There's no record of him anywhere. We even checked with the big cities by way of the Cross Continental Transmit system for something like a birth certificate or schooling but to no avail. We're still waiting on more than a fair amount of responses from the farther continents but for all intents and purposes our detainee has nothing in the books. I thought I'd tell you now and then update periodically."

"It wouldn't be the first time we've had this trouble."

"That's what I said. Certainly there's the possibility he originated from a small village or the like that stubbornly chose to live outside the safety of a city's protective walls. It happens all the time and their records slip through the cracks until they move somewhere else-...may I help you with something?" she suddenly asked smartly, addressing Naruto who still had yet to look away or close his mouth. The jinchuriki in orange methodically raised his hand and pointed towards her more defining features he was still having a hard time understanding through the short time he'd noticed her.

"You have dog ears."

"I do."

"But...how?"

She crossed her arms over her smaller bust and stared at the rude teenager. She was used to the stigma of being 'less than human' and while their town wasn't openly against her race, that didn't mean she'd still just stand there and take it from a bratty teen. "You're acting as if you've never seen a Faunus before."

"...does that mean dog person? Are there a bunch of you? Is this normal here?"

With a slight inhalation through her delicate nose the woman/animal hybrid promptly dismissed Naruto in favor of her colleague. "Is he being serious?"

"I don't even know anymore."

Shaking her head (and causing the canine bits to flop around in sync) the Faunus turned on her heel and promptly left.

Naruto watched her leave and only the sound of the door clicking shut broke him from the trance, turning at the waist to face forward again with an incredibly curious expression. "I mean it. What the hell is a Faunus?"

With a sigh the other man simply rubbed the space between his eyes in irritation. He didn't get paid enough for this shit.

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><p>As it was, Naruto was eventually released despite the evident problems his presence was causing ever since the desert patrolmen found him during their rounds. He had done absolutely nothing wrong. Except coming off as incredibly ignorant and delusional about the real world...something they couldn't exactly arrest him for unless he hurt somebody. Being out in the desert and killing Grimm were not grounds for incarceration. Yes he had a concealed weapon but everybody and their mother carried something like that, hidden or not. There were no warrants or outstanding crimes for a person that effectively did not exist. Sure that meant he was unregistered, and the ninja ID he kept in his pack didn't work since there was no Konoha in this world to begin with...plus no one but the sunny-haired teen could read it regardless. And so they had to convince him to at least record his person there in the city of Oasis to stop anymore surprises in the future. Naruto wasn't happy about it but at least he was finally out of the damn holding cell as a free man again. Even here the cops were just as annoying as the Uchiha Corps used to be back when they were Konohagakure's police force.<p>

The current problem though was he had no idea what to do now.

No proper money, no contacts, surrounded by sand in some kind of futuristic town with flying machines and animal people. His 'aura' was like a damn beacon to those who could sense it...which was technically just about everybody since this energy of theirs supposedly came from the soul and able to harness it or not, it picked at your awareness. Naruto still called it chakra; screw their proper titles. His own energy essentially came from the soul too, or at least part of it before mixing together. Theirs sure as hell felt like the power he'd known for all sixteen-going-on-seventeen years of his life.

Which was kind of scary if you thought about it. Dear lord...please please **PLEASE **let it be just some sort of coincidence and not the horrifying idea that there might be a Juubi here in this world as well. The next part, while helping, didn't calm the wind-user as much as it could have when Kurama had assured him that no, he wasn't growing insane. The land stank of yin and yang energy just as much as their own did but the essence of any chakra beasts was either too far away to notice or (hopefully) didn't exist. The chakra in nature merely wasn't expressed as much, if that made any sense. The fox biju was unable to properly explain and Naruto didn't really have the proper brains to decode it himself. So he simply moved on.

Dropping onto a bench with a heavy sigh the misplaced combatant stared up at the barely cloudy sky and wondered about his next course of action. His chakra was sluggishly coming back which was a nice change of pace, and once all the multiple energies within him recharged he could fly and get the hell out of here. Wherever 'here' actually was.

"...I wonder what's going on back home?" he asked himself. Surely those who were trapped within the genjutsu has been freed after Kakashi-sensei severed the bond, or at least stopped losing their chakra to the Ten-tails. The rest of the biju had been inside Kaguya, who was once again a part of the incomplete Shinju, so for the time being the beasts were trapped as well. Urg! He hated not knowing what was going down in the proper dimension!

He didn't know they had been freed but then again that happened after he vanished.

Dreading how he would reopen the portal, Naruto stood and started walking in a random direction, sidestepping residents and merchants without really paying attention to anyone. At least the sounds of the market were familiar to his ears.

Eventually the boy's black sandals came to a halt as he passed by a store with glowing crystals displayed in the window. Even from here his newly honed sensing abilities unlocked through the power of senjutsu could zone in on how the colorful gems utterly radiated with chakra. _Elemental _chakra. He'd been around and used enough of it to tell the different types by now. So with that in mind Naruto entered the aptly named _The Dusty Dunes _and swiftly grabbed the attention of the man working behind the counter.

"Excuse me, but what are those?" Naruto asked, pointing at the crystalline structures set out beneath glass cases while simultaneously noting the tinted powders inside large clear tubes lining the walls possessing the same type of signatures. There was also a bunch of other items placed along shelves. The clerk stared at him dryly before propping his chin in hand and resting it on the counter. Dark lidded eyes stared impassively at the stranger before grunting out a reply.

"You hit your head or something? Everybody knows what Dust is."

Seeing an opportunity he reached out and took it. "Oh I, uh...yeah, I did actually. Got some kind of amnesia and figured going around to places might jog my memory." Naruto quickly and effectively **lied**.

The employee's head lifted slightly in guilt before taking in the full appearance of the man visiting the store. Vibrant orange clothing with black contrast marked by noticeable wear and tear, a headband and matching open-toed sandals. Wide-eyed curiosity and a head full of shiny gold spikes. Poor kid...he must have been a Huntsman injured in battle with a dirty getup such as that. All those warriors had flair in their clothing choices but this one looked more like he belonged in an academy instead of out in the field. Possible a prodigy? Well, if he got hurt so bad it screwed with his mind then perhaps the schools would rethink just how early graduation should be. "Oh! I-I'm sorry! You just surprised me is all! There isn't anybody in the world who doesn't know about Dust, so I just-" He cleared his throat and adjusted the lapels of his own jacket. "Right."

Pointing down into the nearest display the man began his explanation. "I'll do my best then to try and trigger your memories on the subject. Anyways it's a source of energy, mined right out of the earth itself and refined for personal use. Normally they're found in large crystalline veins but if carefully ground down can be made into a useful powder. Both are highly explosive if handled incorrectly although it takes a _lot_ less for the powdered form to be set off. As it is, they're used as power sources in machines and weapons due to their own inherent elements. Red is mostly used as a heating supply or to create fire. Yellow is lightning, and so on."

'_That makes sense, solid chakra or not._'

"Most Huntsman and Huntresses make use of Dust for combat as they're rather effective against the Grimm. It gave us an edge over those soulless monsters after its initial discovery and we've used it ever since."

"I see. Well, thanks for the explanation mister."

"No problem. Did it happen to help at all?"

"A little."

Naruto made some extra small talk with the staff member, learning a few more odds and ends about the other items in the shop after the initial learning. Waving goodbye the blond once again thanked the male before returning to the street and walking away. Reaching what he considered a good distance he stuck a hand into his pocket and pulled out a squat green gem gently thrumming with the power of wind. Naruto didn't have any proper currency to buy one and so felt kind of bad for stealing it, but it wasn't the first time he'd taken something illegally. He was a ninja after all. And it was too good an opportunity for grabbing one sneakily to study later on.

By then the sun was just beginning to set, lengthening the shadows and reminding the blond that he was still in a bit of a pickle. Sliding the crystal back within his pocket since apparently it would take nothing short of a solid hit to jostle it, Naruto looked around for anything else that could help him out. It eventually came in the form of a passing mother dragging her hyperactive child along in an attempt to get the struggling youth home before night fell. Said woman was kind enough to notice a boy looking down on his luck and gave him directions to the nearest Hunters Lodge after he asked if there were any cheap places to crash, a building where the mercenaries who were stationed or working on jobs in the area gathered in their down time. She must have believed him to be one of the Huntsman like the shopkeep; he just had that warrior's aura but the messy clothes played a big part in making her think he'd seen battle recently.

Uzumaki Naruto started to think it might've been a good idea to keep the illusion going for as long as he could if it worked to his advantage in this strange new world.

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><p><strong>Read, review, let me know what you think. I naturally had to make stuff up since the other Remnant continents don't have too much info yet. Depending on what happens after Season 2, Episode 9...well it may not have any effect on this story since that's as far as RWBY has gotten at the time of re-editing this for upload. I have something entirely different planned in mind. But who knows? Maybe some of the ideas I have are the same as the series' writers have planned.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

RWBY and Naruto are owned by their own respective creators, of which I am not one.

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><p>Chapter 2:<p>

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><p>Naruto was on the hunt. After a slightly restless night of trying to sleep on a stiff cot in a room the Hunters essentially used as a homeless shelter (since to them it was obvious he was not actually a licensed professional) the blond got up and was allowed to take one of the quickest showers he ever had and a warm breakfast alongside actual hobos thankful for the kindness. It was harsh out here in the desert and unlike other places, you couldn't exactly live outside the protective walls unless countless miles of sand was your thing. But in doing so he was given a lead to follow in his quest to discover whether or not this Remnant place was in serious danger. They might have been dirty and hungry, but the homeless were the ones who kept their ears to the ground for gossip and rumors incase it brought up something worthwhile.<p>

Which was why the ninja was now stowed away on something called an 'airship' flying effortlessly through the sky towards another continent called Atlas.

They were the homeland of some Dust manufacturer called the Schnee Dust Company. Every day they mined, refined, and shipped their wares to all corners of the world. To Naruto, that mean _someone_ outthere possibly had the answers to his questions. The plane was slightly slower than the blond could move in his recently enabled flight form but it had the geography and a solid destination in mind. The Uzumaki didn't fancy trying to make a go of it himself and getting horribly lost in the process. So the longer boring trip was his only choice.

The construct was huge though, thrumming with the power of dust and electricity throughout every pipe and cable. Workers constantly moved all about in a quest to make sure the shipments were secure and everything was running smoothly. It wasn't too hard to stay hidden even though it was annoying to keep in one place for over a full day _except_ when he needed to stretch or swipe some food from the break room; with his chakra back to proper levels and energized enough to exert proper chakra control the jinchuriki simply stayed in the shadows and occasionally moved if someone got too close. Compressing his enormous amount of energy was a task since everyone with aura was essentially a sensor...but he at least got it to seem like a normal, albeit still powerful, level of aptitude. Seriously, it was almost too easy to do before the large transport gently came in for a landing and he was out the cargo door before anyone was the wiser.

Between Vacuo and Atlas...this place won hands down.

It had a reputation for being Remnant's leading hotspot for technology and Dust merchandise. Everywhere Naruto looked there were things called holograms and 'solid light' and bright neon signs declaring some item or another. People carried handheld radio things called Scrolls which let them speak to each other over long distances and do other stuff right from the palm of their hand. There were weapons that changed into other weapons before acting like a third, and things that harnessed Dust in a manner similar to ninja techniques, and hell...the blond never heard of a firearm before but it was so commonplace here he wondered how far behind the Elemental Nations were in creating them for their own purposes. They had gunpowder already...and if he remembered right the Snow and Sky ninja had those contraptions which shot kunai at a rapid pace...so it was probably only a matter of time.

Just what they needed. More weapons of death that took far less skill to use than a knife or sword.

Shaking away the morbidity, Naruto used that craftiness of his to move about the loading bay without raising an alarm. Unbeknownst to the shinobi the airship brought him directly into the heart of the Schnee Dust Company's transportation sector where any and all SDC vessels docked. Not wanting to get in trouble with the police again, he'd henge'd into an unassuming discarded pen left on the floor a few feet from a security door which was soon after picked up by a woman in a lab coat and set inside her breast pocket. Now he just had to wait for fortune to fall his way.

An hour later it came in the form of his carrier attempting to write with him as she walked through some hallway away from all the ships. She stopped and glared at the supposedly empty writing utensil, swirling its tip against the clipboard she held before looking up at the sound of heels clicking sharply against the linoleum.

"Oh, these darn things..." a second female grumbled as she readjusted the blue shoes making her stumble about before suddenly jumping in her spot and staring at her watch. "Ah! The tour starts in like a minute!"

The scientist could only shake her head at the other employee's vapidity while she rushed away. Then again, they always had those public walkthroughs of the facilities where non-delicate information was stored and she _supposed _it could start to grate on somebody to the point saying the same lines over and over could mess with your mind. Plus it was now around 8AM, two hours after the morning employees arrived to start their workload, as one of the higher-ups decided to make some extra Lien by allowing tours running all day, from morning to night. The scientist was so happy to have the aptitude for her current job where she could be as grouchy as she wanted to be without citizen's complaining about her lack of cheer while leading them around.

Feeling a small tremble in her hand the pen somehow suddenly slipped out of her enclosed palm and fell towards the ground. Except there was no clatter of it actually touching the floor. And when she looked to pick it up again...the darn thing was missing. She couldn't see it anywhere and it's not like there were any nooks for it to roll under.

How incredibly odd.

* * *

><p>"Hello everyone! My name is Hazel and I'll be your tour guide today!" The woman gave a dazzling smile towards the milling mass of bodies waiting in the reception hall despite the early hours and slightly readjusted the small vest her uniform possessed. "Sorry about the delay. But now that everything's good to go, we can begin! Now if you've been on the tour before you may notice that there are many more guards wandering about the premises than usual. This is in fact due to the recent infiltration attempts by the White Fang so we ask that you leave them to do their jobs and try not to get in their way. If you happen to notice anything suspicious, please let me know so that the proper authorities can be alerted. So if there are no pressing questions, we can begin!"<p>

Naruto trudged along with everybody else, disguised in clothing that made him look less like a street rat or experienced fighter and more like he actually belonged. Everyone in attendance appeared like they were upper class, expensive outfits and all. A quick application of chakra later made him fit in far better than he did before. Slacks, an orange business shirt, and black shoes fit right in with everybody else. The blond wasn't sure what exactly he might learn but since this place was the top expertise for Dust and its abilities Naruto figured it was as good as any place to start. He'd slipped by the security teams to make it here though...and he kept feeling eyes on him, as if they weren't sure the ninja had always been a part of the group or not.

Not standing out was actually _really _difficult for someone like Naruto Uzumaki.

"Alright everyone! Please follow me to the first room where...we'll...o-oh! Ms. Schnee?!"

Hazel halted in her tracks, staring wide-eyed down the corridor past her followers and forcing the mass of Schnee customers at the rear to bump into each other in a bid to stop. Her surprised squawk and choice of words naturally made all heads in attendance swivel around to see this supposed person. And since Naruto was a bit taller than the few elderly surrounding him, they jostled him to move until finally the blue-eyed boy complied and walked out of the way so they'd stop poking him with their damn bony fingers. This, however...inevitably brought him to the edge of the tourists and into the perfect line of sight for what everyone else was so interested in.

Subdued steps at his side made the jinchuriki twist his upper half around; the action bringing him to bear on someone who was positively _striking_.

She was pale, almost unnaturally so. With long silvery-white hair pulled into a ponytail off the back right side of her head which hung behind her right shoulder and was held in place by a small tiara ornament. The female had on low-cut opera-styled dress with an undersized black piece of lace covering any cleavage of her small chest, and a silky white cloth belt. The dress, her calf-high boots with high wedge heels, and her bolero jacket with a high wavy collar, were colored a pale icy blue which also appeared white depending on the angle of the light. Both the inside of the coat and boots were shaded a deep vibrant red; the edge of the skirt and the sleeves of the jacket widened near the bottom with lace that resembled snowflakes.

For accessories the newcomer wore a thin chain with a small silver apple clasped at her neck, along with rectangular dangling earrings to match. And speaking of snow...as she stepped by it revealed a large snowflake logo on the back of her top. It was the exact same as the one stenciled on every shipping container and employee badge. And her name was Schnee...

Huh.

As the overly pretty girl continued walking by everyone she could feel their stares upon her. Being watched was nothing new; it was a coincidence that the tour group was right there when she decided to go past but if so, why not get all eyes on her regardless?

Naruto blinked at the moment she came up parallel to his side. Because of her color scheme, it made the girl almost appear to be glowing with an inner light as he continued to watch her with his jaw slightly open. Her thin neck tilted slightly as she glanced at the blond, darker sapphire meeting lighter blue and revealing to the ninja her one blemish among flawlessness: a thin pink scar running over her left eye similar to Kakashi's.

Weiss Schnee smirked softly at Naruto's dumbfounded expression before walking up to the tour guide's side and spinning around to look out among the crowd. Having people in awe of her was nothing new but it was always nice to be appreciated. A pity for the boy in the orange shirt though...he appeared to be the youngest of the lot and while she could appreciate his build, he still looked a little too low brow for her refined tastes.

"I'm sorry for interrupting." Weiss began, "I didn't realize a tour would currently still be in this portion of the building. But since I have your attention, allow me to personally thank each and every one of you for continuing to support the Schnee Dust Company. If it wasn't for you then we could not have grown into what we are today. Your efforts and business were just as important in making us number one. So for that I, Weiss Schnee, hope you maintain your support in helping us bring you the latest in Dust breakthroughs and conveniences."

Her smirk returned as the civilians burst into cheery applause.

The guide looked overwhelmed by her Weiss' presence. "T-thank you Ms. Schnee!"

"It's no problem...um..."

"Hazel, miss!"

"Hazel." the successor added with a softer smile before returning her attention to the crowd. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to be on my way. As you may or may not have heard, I've been accepted to Beacon Academy in Vale and my airship will be leaving soon." More clapping soon followed and Weiss preened under their efforts. Waving an arm and placing the other against her hip, the silvernette absorbed the attention like a sponge, clearly enjoying their admiration. "Thank you, thank you."

With one final flourish she gave a deep curtsy, grasping the tips of her dress while she smoothly slid through the motion like a proper lady. The Schnee left soon after, slender hips flaring subconsciously underneath her outfit as her confidence soared ever higher and she walked away. Naruto scratched his cheek at the clear signs of superiority the teen exuded before shrugging his shoulders in the end over her display.

"So..._who_ was that exactly?" he asked aloud in confusion. He got that she was somehow related to the company or whatever but...well, this was Naruto. A few of the people around him gave him looks of sheer disbelief and the jinchuriki grinned sheepishly in an attempt to lessen the scrutiny now forced upon him. "Um, I'm new around here and still unfamiliar with things."

At least one man was willing to humor him. "Well that was Weiss Schnee. Next in line to run the entire Dust conglomerate and she's actually going to school to become a professional Huntress."

"She's a fantastic singer too. I just barely got tickets to her last show before it sold out."

"I wanted to go. Too pricey for me though."

"Oh you missed out! Such a sublime voice..."

An elderly woman standing among the babbling fans watched Naruto with scrutiny as he rubbed his chin in thought. She especially zeroed in on his facial markings and once her weary eyes focused properly she immediately fell into her husband's arms. "A-ah! Your face! Are you a Faunus?!"

He actually took offense at that. It was almost like when the civilians used to look at him back when he had no concept of jinchuriki and the Kyuubi.

"Do I look like I'm half dog? Oh wait, the cop said that wasn't right..."

"What?" She shook away the strange question and grabbed her beau's sleeve for support. More and more people were starting to watch as the commotion overtook the calm atmosphere in at a frenzied pace. "Guards! GUARDS! HELP! A FAUNUS!"

"No I'm not! Do you see any horns or ears up here?!" For emphasis the blond ran his hands through those spiky follicles of his but the woman continued to scream. The cry was taken up by the others and soon enough a wide circle had formed around him, security personnel drawing their weapons on the unarmed 'Faunus' as he desperately tried to calm everyone down.

"Put your hands in the air!"

"I'm serious! I'm not a damn Faunus!" The whole racism towards half-creature beings was ridiculous. It was worse than being a jinchuriki, or at least how Naruto suffered under the separation from his fellows. He was ignored, belittled, and left starving for attention. From what the police officer back in Oasis explained there were many places where the Faunus were treated like actual animals and violently repressed. Deaths, beatings, and all manner of prejudice forced them to lash out. Things always devolved into hostility. Even where the animalistic race was accepted they were still considered a lower class by far too many. They breathed, their hearts pumped blood, they grew older and fell in love, but the only difference is they had beast-like features. Big whoop. Naruto was lucky he only suffered under ignorance and not the same treatment as, say, Gaara endured.

"_We're _serious!"

"Okay, you know what?! Screw you people! I'll show you I'm a human and that you're all being big fat idiots!" Fingers fumbled against his pants Naruto, in a very Naruto-ish action, then proceeded to spin around and moon the terrorized people while calling the lot of them dumbasses. Horns or ears may have been easier to hide but the smooth unblemished skin of his tailbone spoke volumes. One could disguise their ears but an extra appendage was a lot more difficult. Obviously there were Faunus who didn't actually have tails but considering the boy also lacked additional bits poking out from his skull, he actually had some backup to his claims.

Still...the kid was exposing his ass in public and Faunus or not that was always a no-no. The guards immediately tackled the (now) minor threat, only for the blond to explode into smoke and leave no trace of himself behind. The proceeding search of the area and its surrounding buildings brought up the same thing and entirely screwed up the rest of the Schnee's business practices for the entire day.

And the whole time his shenanigans messed over the big conglomerate Naruto wasn't even in Atlas anymore.

* * *

><p>Weiss Schnee smiled as she lifted the glass of chilled champagne to her lips and crossed one thin leg over the other, partaking of the bubbly liquid and sighing in appreciation once she finished her sip. This was truly the life and just one of the things she'd miss once she started the school semester. Refined meals...being waited on hand and foot...and most importantly, sleeping in the confines of her own luxurious room at the mansion. It was such a great place to practice going through the forms with her Dust rapier Myrtenaster; privacy was a given within the Schnee household but her room was <em>her room<em>. A sanctuary where Weiss could just be Weiss.

No manners.

Protocol for an upper class woman was unnecessary.

But in a sense, Weiss could have that same similar state of security while out at Beacon. While she was going to make it quite certain that she was an heiress with grand ambitions and therefore higher on the totem pole, there was the possibility of others coming from the same background enrolled as freshman as well. Oh, that made the scarred silvernette smile in anticipation. Teamed up with those in her social class, with high grades and strong techniques, the girl's future squad could all be the picture perfect celebrities while out in public before retiring to their room and just acting...normal.

It would be so nice to strike out on her own and get away from the stifling atmosphere of her family. Not to say Weiss despised her father or sister. Oh no, she loved them with all her heart. But Daddy Schnee and Winter put their focus into the company. When Weiss eventually discovered that a sword in her hands became a skilled and deadly blade, she put in her application to the Kingdom of Vale's premier Hunter academy in a bid to test herself before the weight of taking over the business became too much to ignore.

She could fight. The world needed protecting. Her current course in life was a no brainer.

It had been hours since her early morning departure, and time was just sailing by. Even now they were sailing over the ocean, having left behind her home continent behind with Remnant's largest landmass on the horizon. Peering up at the nearby bay window, the female looked past the person staring out at the clouds before her pale neck tilted back down and she ran a finger lazily around the rim of her glass to create a quiet, vibrating hum. After quietly matching the pitch with her own tone, Weiss broke off both noises and allowed the silence to embrace her once more. In due course she decided to take another sip before the white-lover immediately spat out the mouthful of liquid in a spray of mildly alcoholic mist and started coughing to clear her lungs. What the hell?! She had been alone in her private cabin on the transcontinental airship since takeoff, except for when the stewardess brought lunch! When did- how- WHAT?!

"Man this is a heck of a view." Naruto said in serene amazement, watching an undecipherable black dot far, far away with expressive eyes. He wondered if it was just another of these ferries but the distance was still too great even for his ninja-trained orbs. So in the meantime he just followed the Nara doctrine and watched the sky from a place with a great view.

Better than the deep shadows of a cargo hold again.

Having grown tired of concealing himself on the lower decks the jinchuriki eventually slipped up to where his target was. Having already undergone the mundane task of patiently waiting for an aircraft to shuttle itself from Vacuo to Atlas, learning on the fly how distant the two continents were from each other, he really hoped it would be quicker this time. What Naruto didn't know was that Vacuo and Vale were on the same continent and that Vale was essentially closer due to its positioning so therefore the travel span would be less...but that didn't stop the shinobi from disliking it in the long run. Cursing all the monotony he decided to go and see things from a nice vantage point.

It was so impressive to take a moment and see things midflight for once without unnaturally fast opponents taking up his entire concentration so he didn't die. Maybe at some point in the future he'd change back into his own flight mode and just take in the sights from an aerial view. Who knows, really? Considering now he wasn't locked in deadly combat the male could take the time to appreciate the sight of the world so far below him with a birds-eye view.

"Who are you and how did you get here?!" Weiss shrieked as she jumped to her feet and pulled Myrtenaster from its resting place on the nearby table. The blond turned just as the other teen stepped forward to apprehend him, only to pause and lean back in shock as she got a clear view of his features. "YOU?! Why are you here?! Did...did you actually_ stalk_ me?!"

"No! Well, technically I guess I did follow you but it's not stalking!"

Naruto was forced to lean back as the sharp tip of the thin saber hovered near his tender throat and Weiss glared into his face. "A likely story!" This wasn't the first time an admirer became a bit too bold and the gal had been forced to show them why it wasn't such a good idea to get clingy. She even sneered as she got a good look at his change in clothing, with the clothes of a far less quality than what he had on before. Plus the jacket he now wore was incredibly frayed and ragged at its bottom hem...and the right sleeve was torn up to the middle of the forearm which exposed, _of all things_, some sort of mesh underlay. And who wears headbands anymore?

"I'm serious! I just needed to ask you a few questions about Dust! You're the heiress or whatever, and that would mean you know more about it than anyone else!"

Despite the praise Weiss downplayed the smirk crawling over her lips. So he thought she was the leading expert on Dust? While it was true, obviously, he was going about it horribly wrong. So this person wasn't exactly a creep, just an idiot. An idiot who...snuck onto her ship without any problems and made his way through the entire transport without being spotted. Okay. Maybe there _was _something off about the situation. Lowering her weapon so as not to accidentally skewer him while she decided what to do the white-lover gasped suddenly and moved the rapier right back to where it would keep him nervous. "You're a Faunus?!"

"Huh?" Seeing her icy eyes fiercely glaring at his face, or more specifically his cheeks, the wayward blond sighed explosively and actually cursed his unique facial markings. He'd never had so many problems with these damn things before! Despite the danger he began twisting his head around, making sure to hit the different angles. Dropping his pants in this situation was not a good idea this time. "No! I'm! Not! Do you see anything else besides hair? I'm tired of people calling me that!"

Not because he thought it was bad to be one of the animal humans. But because it was seriously getting annoying being mistaken like he was diseased or something.

No, Weiss only saw yellow spikes and nothing else poking out from his scalp. But that didn't mean he was off the hook in any way. Too bad for him, but the moment she jumped out of her chair she pressed a hidden button to call for backup. She disliked the fact her first instinct was to call the guard but...living the high-class life as she did meant that bodyguards were a staple of the norm. This was also a time for her to relax before she threw her all into her studies to rise along the academic ladder and he was ruining it all. But what _really_ ticked her off was when he kept trying to look back out the window again instead of focusing on the deadly weapon indenting his skin.

Before she could make her insulted feelings known, the elevator hissed open as two men with pistols moved carefully through the doorway and scanned the room before zeroing in on the pair of teens and their awkward positioning: Weiss pointing her rapier at a mysterious boy with his back to her. One quickly broke off to cover the heiress as the second raised his gun and pointed it at the ninja. "Put your hands in the air!"

"Are you okay Ms. Schnee?" the other asked sharply while Weiss smugly sheathed her blade at her left hip.

"Yes, I'm fine." she said as the security officer led her back towards her chair to put some distance between them. Naruto exhaled noisily through his nostrils, raising his limbs above his head while turning around as the guard roughly pushed him towards the bay window and proceeded to grab his wrists and handcuff them together. He was even enough of an asshole to kick him in the back of the knees and put him flat on the floor. Weiss wince ever so slightly upon witnessing the forceful treatment but, well, he shouldn't have stowed away on a ship with someone who was akin to royalty in the Kingdom of Atlas.

The guard pinned him down with a knee for good measure before speaking into the Scroll attached to his chest. "Command, we have an unwanted visitor. Please advise."

...

...

...

"Command?"

The ship rocked heavily, and the man trying to cut off Naruto's air supply was thrown off his feet and onto his face like a ragdoll. Weiss tipped into her chair and the other guard fell flat on his ass. The only one to _not_ suffer from the sudden change in direction was the shinobi and that was due to his prone position. Flipping her ponytail away from her face with an irritated huff, the silvernette pulled herself back onto her feet and smoothed out her clothing under the superior grin of the captured blond.

"_Attention, attention! A Grimm has been sighted off the port bow! _"

"WHAT?!" Danger or not, Weiss rushed to the window and looked off in the direction the stowaway had been mesmerized by. That black dot? It wasn't just a dot any longer. At this point she could make out the telltale signs of wings flapping to gain lift and all she could think about was, '_How did a Grimm get so close to the intercontinental transport lanes?!_' The soulless creatures were always kept at bay by Hunters and/or specialized patrols to keep travelers safe outside the protective walls. It took a lot of work but then again, flying Grimm consistently never grew large enough to pose a major threat to the flying machines so anything bigger than your average bird was taken out by a ship's regular gunfire from multiple cannons.

The one heading towards Weiss' private transport was definitely _not_ average.

Weiss felt her heart leap into her throat. Not because the Grimm was huge and still growing in size as the distance between them shrank...although she never would have guessed she'd be forced to face one of such caliber before the girl even became a proper student. No, it was because up so high they were all sitting ducks. While the large transports, and at a better rate the considerably smaller Bulkhead ships, were quite maneuverable in the air, something such as the approaching Nevermore could fly circles around them. If nothing was done then they were all in major trouble. Even with her Semblance, the female couldn't exactly remain in the sky indefinitely and she was out of her element.

"So that's what that was." Naruto said to himself as realization dawned.

Frantic transmissions began piping in over the two guards' Scrolls. "_Is that- IT'S ATTACKING!_"

"_TURN, TURN!_"

"_HOW DID A GRIMM EVEN GET SO CLOSE?!_"

There was a scream of metal rubbing against metal as the entire ship began tilting at a speed it wasn't used to doing, its odd flipper-like thrusters twisting and rolling its entire frame to the right. Black projectiles were rapidly gaining speed and the listing transport just barely lost enough altitude to allow the razor sharp feathers fired from the Nevermore's wings to just narrowly graze its hull. Unlike other Grimm, this one had the barest of white armors worn over its elongated skull like a helmet. The rest of it was like an overly large crow with flowing, elongated tail feathers. While they had avoided perforation by the monster's attack...inside was a different story. Everyone within was forced to brace themselves as the floor unwillingly became a wall and gravity decided to fuck them over.

The security quickly fell and slammed harshly into the new 'bottom' of the ship as the lone, flustered female in the room was forced to hold onto the foundation of her cushy seat for dear life so as to not wind up like her unfortunate bodyguards. They were lucky that was reinforced glass or else...yeah. Naruto, along with everyone else onboard, noticed his sense of balance begin to change along with the transportation and therefore did all he could to keep himself from plummeting and possibly getting hurt due to his bound arms. By that...once the man keeping him down lost his balance, the ninja bucked to get him off before simply doing one of the baser chakra control exercises: tree climbing.

As the aircraft eventually righted itself Weiss was left speechless upon noticing the bothersome blond had somehow remained in the exact same spot he'd been the whole time without tumbling away. Yet before she could proclaim her disbelief the boy had already stood and turned back towards the window to stare out at the big bird. "Another one of those things?" Looking over his shoulder with a mischievous blue eye, Naruto grinned. "Hey. If I take care of that, will you at least listen to what I have to say?"

Weiss' mouth was already wide open at the sheer audacity of him 'taking care' of the dangerous avian, which allowed for her skeptical scoff to easily vacate her lips. "You're _joking_, right? That's a Nevermore! A _big _one. The creatures of Grimm grow far differently than other organisms, and considering that one is nearly as big as this ship..." She quickly shook her head, making the long whitish locks bound by her hairpiece to whip back and forth. "It's been around for a long time and that means it knows how to fight and survive effectively! It would take a whole group of Huntsmen and Huntresses to destroy it...and that's if it was low enough to fight at ground level!"

They were at a disadvantage because of the terrain. While the Nevermore was hazardous, that's not to say it couldn't be beaten.

But this yellow-headed fool was suicidal.

"You're underestimating what I can do. By the way, is this a door?" With a simple twist of his wrists the manacles snapped like cheap plastic before Naruto walked over to a large metallic slab welded to the wall next to the windows; the big reddish button on a nearby console looked rather enticing. Upon seeing her set of half perfect/half flawed eyeballs staring at him without any response the shinobi merely shrugged and slapped his palm against the switch. With a slight groan, a seam appeared horizontally in the center of the emergency exit and began to fold outwards.

Luckily they weren't _too_ high or moving _too _fast because the sudden invasion of wind was only strong enough to send anything that wasn't bolted down flying about, sans the humans. Weiss' long locks flipped around from the sudden forceful drafts, and the loose edges of her clothes continuously flapped, but other than that she and the unconscious guards were unmoved. Random papers and other light objects were blown about like a mini-storm and that in itself was annoying as they continued to block her vision. The Uzumaki grinned at her as his headband fluttered around his golden spikes before he grasped the edge of the bulkhead and took a step. Finally realizing that the idiot was going to jump she screamed something but her words were drowned out by the rush of air.

The last thing he did before jumping was giving the swordswoman a cheesy thumbs up, his body immediately disappearing out of sight into the cloudless blue expanse.

Wide cerulean orbs stared at the empty doorway for a long, lingering moment before rapidly blinking as the Schnee came to terms with what she just witnessed. A boy, a stowaway whose worst crime so far that she knew of had been sneaking onto the private vessel, just effectively killed himself and Weiss had done nothing to stop it. Oh sure, she yelled at him...but someone as intellectual as Weiss instinctively knew there had been no point in doing so since he'd never hear her regardless. Yet she did so anyways and look how well it turned out.

Losing the strength in her legs, the muscles trembled before she dropped to her knees and then fell the few extra inches onto her butt, just staring at the space where Naruto had occupied with something akin to shock. The winter-themed female hadn't even tried to stop him physically, merely reaching out an arm in the hopes it would magically keep him from committing to his idiotic way of thinking. She could have blocked the exit with her Semblance, or rushed over and stopped the door from opening, or...something. But instead Weiss froze up and let it happen.

It made her feel powerless and disgusted with herself.

In light of her self-loathing the Nevermore simply disintegrated under the pressure of a huge ball of purplish-white plasma and fiery oranges and reds that nearly blinded the lot of them. Weiss immediately stopped her hate as she once again was compelled to hold onto something as the displaced air from the detonation buffeted the ship. In the chaos of the pilots attempting to keep them all afloat, no one really noticed that as the explosion tapered off it showed the avian Grimm was now nothing more than charred ash blown along with the wind. Whatever just erased the bird from existence was so powerful...it's compressed form had already drilled through the Nevermore's chest cavity before the initial blast.

All they had to go on was the fact the danger was no longer there.

As her world stopped tumbling about the young Schnee cracked open an eye only for both to shoot open once again in disbelief. From what she could see the open door was slowly folding inward as Naruto stood within the boundaries of her room, perfectly fine and well while readjusting his battle-damaged jacket. As she stood up on wobbly limbs to find the center of balance on her heels, Weiss stalked over to the blond as he continued to smile and spread out his arms slightly away from his body.

"See? No big deal. So will you answer my-"

**SMACK**

"...ow."

With his head tilted sharply to the side and a new ache in his jaw, Weiss had slapped him right across the face the moment she reached him. The look she was giving him too was far from friendly.

"You complete...inconsiderate...IMBECILE! Do you have any idea what you just did?! I thought you killed yourself!" she screeched in anger, clutching her hand because hitting the ninja was somehow just as painful towards herself as it was to him. "I do not care what special Semblance you think you possess, and I don't want to hear whatever crackpot excuse you have for somehow destroying the Grimm...DO NOT ever jump from a moving airship ever again!" With a frustrated cry she looked down towards her slowly reddening palm and continued frowning. Her aura was already beginning to heal the damage but it made her question how potent his own was to involuntarily protect Naruto without him consciously knowing he would be struck. It was quite powerful, and standing so closely she could now feel the energy bleeding off him at a rapid pace. Such a thing was incredibly dangerous but his surplus was so grand it didn't matter in the end.

Ah, never mind that! She was still pissed!

"I..." Naruto was incredibly taken aback by her emotional outburst, originally not understanding the reason. But then he realized no one knew what he was truly capable of in this world; hell, being able to fly was still a wonder to himself and it was _his _ability! "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking-"

"No you weren't! Do you realize the danger you put everyone in?! We are thousands of feet up in the air and you...blew up the Nevermore! With nothing to keep us properly grounded, the ship was forced to fight for control so the wind and pressure from the detonation didn't send us crashing to the ground!"

"...Nevermore? And Deathstalkers? Who names these things?"

"Quiet, you!" Apparently the female heard his mumblings. "I can't believe how stupid you are not to take our lives into consideration!" The set of guards lying comatose near the far wall were sheer examples of that...but they hadn't exactly been very lucky since the moment they entered the room.

A blue eyeball twitched in its socket as Weiss blatantly called him out on his less than intellectual standing. "I said I was sorry. Fighting in the air is a new thing to me." But she was right though and who knows how many others hurt themselves when the personnel carrier was almost knocked out of the sky? Naruto felt guilty but considering the constant stream of positive, disbelieving chatter filtering in through the men's scrolls at least mollified him somewhat. The vessel had even returned to a smooth, constant pace without any other problems as someone announced they radioed ahead to their destination to discuss the recent troubles.

The pale girl just looked as if she was going to slap him again. "You are a _menace_!"

Firmly stopping the finger being jabbed towards his chest by its attached wrist, the silver Schnee's visage was anything but friendly as he suddenly held a green Dust crystal in his free hand. "Okay, look. I know I'm an idiot. You're not the first to say that and probably won't be the last. Yell at me all you want later, for as much as you want, until you feel better. But I _need your help_. I'm serious Weiss."

Hearing the severity in his voice coupled with his rather neutral but somber look made Weiss clench her teeth. Ten seconds passed before she simply asked in a sharp tone, "What do you need?"

Hearing her acceptance, no matter how reluctant, brought a smile to Naruto's face as he gently released her arm and she pulled back to cross her arms across her smaller bust. "Thank you." Lifting up the emerald gem he held it in the space between them. "I just...need to know more about Dust. Like where it first came from, and how it's actually made."

"You're joking right?"

"No." How resolutely the blond said that made the girl pause; the look on his face was damn near pleading. Weiss could only wonder just how important this information was that made him blatantly break the law just to speaker with her privately. But what this man was asking of her...was common knowledge. Ultimately sighing at the frustrating situation, the chilly female snatched the crystal from his grasp and held it up towards the window. In spite of its solid opaque state the chunk of wind-based Dust glowed just a little bit brighter from the influx of light. If it involved Dust, then it was quite possible her own livelihood was in jeopardy as well as the countless others who worked for her family.

Weiss may have had a frigid aura and acted rude towards those she believed to be beneath her...but she wasn't _heartless_.

"What's your name?" Because if there were problems later, she'd have a means to point out who was most likely the cause. Unknowing to her darker thoughts the blond saw no reason not to implicate himself.

"Naruto."

The teenager pursed her lips at the strange labeling but otherwise shrugged it off. "Dust-" she began, "-is a naturally occurring energy propellant which can be triggered to explode or use its energy through physical trauma, specially designed machines, or application of a person's aura. It is found under the surface of the earth; despite the inherent dangers we have continued to mine it from subterranean deposits and process it into a smooth but still 'raw' form like this one, or refine it further into Dust powder. The color decides its naturally-infused element; the different affinities became forms of labor-saving devices since their initial discovery many, many years ago instead of merely being used for combat purposes. It can also be sewn into clothing for enhanced synergy...or nauseatingly enough, even implanted within the body."

She hit him with a tried-and-true company explanation along with a bit of her own knowledge on the subject but the energetic blond didn't look very impressed. In fact, he looked put out.

"Thanks...sorry though, but it's still not exactly what I wanted. You mentioned the 'initial discovery' though. How exactly did that happen?"

"No one knows. It was an incredibly long time ago before any written records. The best that scholars and scientists have to go off of is an old myth."

Naruto cupped his chin and scowled in thought. "How's that story go?"

"...you really didn't pay attention in school, did you?" The jinchuriki's tense expression immediately softened into a guilty smile. Technically Weiss was correct, but that education took place in an entirely separate dimension with a whole different program. "Okay, wow. It's like this. Listen up because I'm only saying it once..." In an attempt to gather her thoughts the silvernette let her aura flow into the crystal, easily creating a miniature tornado in the palm of her hand. Watching the displaced air swirl about for a moment Weiss allowed it to shut off, confident she had everything she needed to explain. "Legend says that mankind is a remnant of civilizations long past but no one truly knows. The most believed tale passed around is that mankind was born from the unending dust of the world into a harsh and unforgiving land. They were hunted by the creatures of Grimm and, while humans were resourceful enough to survive, the darkness was overpowering and if something wasn't done, they would all be wiped out. Over time the survivors discovered a source of power which evened the odds against the Grimm, and in turn named this gift from nature as the very thing that gave them life: Dust."

"Ah...and once people started using Dust...nature, um, didn't try to take it back did it?"

Weiss' confusion made him feel so very relieved. "No? What kind of question is that?"

Naruto reached over and laid a palm on her shoulder, beaming happily with a genuine smile he hadn't felt since he first unwillingly arrived in this place. The ponytailed rapier-wielder looked at his hand warily but the blond didn't care. "Then there's nothing to worry about!"

There was no other version of the Juubi. Nothing he'd probably have to fight again since he had the power to do so. No prehistoric entity hell-bent on reabsorbing its energy from the people...or Dust...or whatever. Oh...this was going to make his stay so much simpler!

Weiss didn't share his enthusiasm after shrugging off his friendly gesture in a fit of concern. "Hey! If you're hiding something that threatens the safety of everyone that uses Dust, you better speak up!"

"No! There's nothing! I thought there might be a problem but if what you said is true and you're right then I worried over something stupid! Honest!"

Grabbing his jacket she pulled the taller boy down to her level, face to face. The heiress studied him intently before sniffing daintily and shoving him away, the green Dust gem pressed into his chest by her hand as Weiss turned her head and looked away in a clear sign she was acting as though she didn't care.

"Of course I'm right. I'll believe you..._for now_." Tilting her neck to stare him down, her bright blue eyes shone with a sharp gleam of intent. "But if something dire happens I will blame _you_ entirely!" she explained before taking her own step back with her hands once again resting against her thin waist. Wow...Weiss didn't seem like the type of girl who could summon up such a focusing of her emotions. It just showed the brawler that, in spite of the princess' overtone of being self-absorbed, she truly cared about others underneath that layer of smug frigidity...while not actually coming out and saying what she truly felt.

Naruto sighed but still found himself smiling at the pretty Schnee's roundabout protectiveness. Pocketing the wind crystal, the blond teen wisely kept his mouth shut as sudden tickles in their stomachs signified the ship was descending. Had they really arrived already? Apparently being scared for your life, destroying a Grimm, being momentarily arrested again, and also holding a life-altering conversation about something majorly significant to the realm really passed the time. The longest instance was between Naruto and Weiss speaking with each other; on another entirely separate note, the guards were finally lucid again and to their surprise the girl actually told them she no longer needed their service for the rest of the ride. Sharing a glance, the two weary men left, wondering what happened during their embarrassing bout of unconsciousness that made their young boss change her mind about the stowaway.

The wide blue waves of the ocean from midday were now the vast fields and forests of Vale's temperate environment later that afternoon. Even all that eventually changed as the wilds became scarcer with signs of industrialization popping up occasionally. There were sightings of a lone cottage or minor village where humans bravely sought out space from the continent's major coastal city, also aptly named Vale by its denizens. Not everyone felt comfortable in the safe but enclosed walls meant to protect its citizens from Grimm attacks; Naruto likened it to farmers and such who built their homes outside Konoha. They were far enough away not to be bothered, but still fundamentally close enough to have a chance to flee to safer grounds should they come under assault from the soulless beasts.

The daughter of Atlas' most significant CEO and the son of the Yondaime remained at the window of one of the Schnee family's private vessels, standing together in a somewhat awkward but still somehow comfortable atmosphere while other floating transports followed her ship's lead. The pair remained silent as the additional Beacon hopefuls on the other arriving ships got their first view of the city connected to its illustrious school. Occasionally a light-tinted iris would flicker towards the intruder/guest as Weiss tried to silently figure out more about the boy she begrudgingly allowed to stick around. Soon enough the transport would land and his fate would be up to whoever was there to greet them. Security obviously radioed ahead, both to update on the trespasser and Nevermore, so once the trip ended Naruto would be out of her well-maintained hair. When she wasn't yelling at him or feeling sorry for his lack of brains...eh, he wasn't _so_ bad. But rules were rules and the whiskered orange-lover disregarded plenty of them.

With his arms thrown behind his head in relaxation, Naruto took in the interesting sights below and instead pondered what he'd do now. Sometimes his jaw would flex as if he wanted to say something but instead he'd keep quiet. The shinobi already traipsed the border of her hospitality enough and therefore didn't want to push past the limit of generosity she'd already shown. He was an on-the-fly sort of person anyways so...yeah.

Another sudden drop caused the duos' knees to bend minutely as the ship came to a complete stop and the momentum carried its passengers into a smooth landing. The large aircraft with the Schnee snowflake hovered in line along the canyon's edge where the landing pads were built. Beacon's main campus was further away, down a lengthy construct attached to said runway that served as both a defensive point (being one of only two entrances to the academy) and as a way to induce newcomers to their new home for the next four years. Fluttering feelings of positive apprehensive swelled within their chests as the students marched off towards their future career. They were all giddy, and the walk to the school allowed for a way to burn off some of the nervous energy beforehand.

From her position in the upper cabin Weiss could see her fellow classmates begin trooping out of their own vessels while much farther away there were a few walking in from the opposite direction. They obviously came from the main gate but that was mostly for those who lived in and around the area...or arrived by water. Boats were slower but hey, not everyone had access to an airport.

Feeling her hand brush against the comforting hilt of Myrtenaster, the female decided to pose another question. "So what are you going to do now?" Not because she really cared for the delinquent, but due to innate curiosity. A pity that only now she thought to ask the query...but it had been a rather turbulent trip for what was _supposed_ to be a simple chauffeur job.

When the whiskered Uzumaki failed to reply she turned her head, only to go bug-eyed and whip her dainty neck every which way in an attempt to find the brightly-clothed lad.

He was gone.

New anger flared through Weiss' veins as her perfectly pale skin heated under a resentful blush. Stomping her foot against the floor she huffed and pouted and threw her arms up in the air. First he got on without alerting anyone and now he was just GONE? How the hell did Naruto keep slipping by her senses like that?!

Meanwhile, the boy who could rile her up so easily had already crossed the metal bridge connecting the ship to the ground, bypassing the employees aboard and unaware of the fair-haired female's righteous fury. He could still _feel_ her negativity anyways thanks to Kurama's ability but ignored it in favor of using his limited knowledge concerning the heiress to chalk that up to just Weiss being Weiss. Out here it took no skill at all to basically go with the flow and join the crowd of hopefuls walking towards Beacon. He was of similar age, so no one paid him a second glance as he decided to head off to the nearby city by cutting through the school. Then he'd...do something once he got to Vale. Man, not having a tentative plan now that he felt the world wasn't in danger from a complete monster really sucked.

As he drew closer to the campus Naruto stepped by a pretty blonde girl attempting to hold a shorter female in a red hood back as said person bounced around in unbridled amazement. The taller female cast an appreciative glance his way before sighing and returning her full attention to the one in her grasp. She'd have more time to ogle all the boys later once she got this lovely bundle of energy under control.

Plenty of initiates walked through the nearest metal gate without any problems but as Naruto neared them, a man nonchalantly came forward from the inner courtyard moving from the opposite direction. He didn't exactly block the ninja's path since it was a very wide gate but the way the person stopped and stood there watching the toad summoner made Naruto pause as well. In one of his hands was a cane and the other a mug, to which the male took a drink before giving the barest of nods and turning on his heel.

"Walk with me." he said casually. His legs took him back the way he came and, since Naruto literally had nothing better to do without additional assistance, shrugged and jogged to catch up with him. Unless he found something to help him move between dimensions the blue-eyed jinchuriki was stuck in a rut. The guy wanted something? He didn't look like the police so...maybe whatever the guy required wouldn't devolve into an arrest attempt or interrogation.

He could only hope. But hey, if he was lucky enough then maybe Naruto could request a meal and some time for a shower. That would be oh so nice about now...

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><p><strong>****I'd like to bring up something real quick though: Faunus. It's still up for debate whether or not they actually have bellybuttons. Blake supposedly doesn't have one on her model and yet she exposes her midriff while still hiding away her ears. If lack of a bellybutton was real, wouldn't she want to cover that too? But then again both of her outfits are low enough on her stomach to potentially cover it up. I've heard how Sun doesn't have one either on his model and it does look like that...but if you look, the bottom section of his abs is slightly different than the rest of his midsection. It sort of looks like its a bellybutton, but simply not very visible due to his muscles.<strong>

**So for the sake of a lack of information, Faunus in my story actually have them. Maybe they're just less noticeable...idk yet.**

**So yeah, sorry if this chapter seemed less polished than the first. Somehow, in some fucking way, the entirety of the finished chapter 2...both on my laptop AND my USB was overwritten by the little bit I had started for chapter 3. I never even knew until after I started working more on 3 and then decided to go and edit chapter 2...and was met with a single paragraph. Cue my attempts at rewriting. I tried everything at first to recover the data but I had no idea when the change happened and scouring previous versions of the documents brought up the same damn thing. I was so pissed. So...unlike the rather thought out chapter I originally had, I was forced to remember as much as I could and hope it came out like I wanted. It feels the same and I believe I hit all the points again regardless.**

**It would've been out much sooner with that small spree of updating I did before.**

**But all that work gone...**

**Read and review, please. Let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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><p>Chapter 3:<p>

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><p>Weiss couldn't believe her luck. After the questionable...<em>event<em> on her travels to Vale, it was smooth sailing as she waited outside the ship and watched a few well-dressed men load her luggage onto a baggage cart for transport to her room. All pristine white bags, of course. Filled with her essentials and unmentionables and a fair amount of Dust to refill her rapier whenever their slots became too low on the wonderous item.

But then she went and turned around for one minute and some buffoon tripped and fell right onto her things!

It was a younger-looking schoolgirl in a black blouse and matching frilly skirt with red trim, a small black corset at her waist underneath a humble but growing bust, dark grey stockings, and knee-high boots that matched the rest of her color scheme. Pinned to her waist was a silver rose emblem, positioned next to a small satchel used to hold rounds of Dust ammunition. A long red hood was attached at her shoulders by small crosses, able to settle and hide the large red compacted scythe holstered at the small of her back. Wide silver eyes looked out from a soft rounded face, with chin-length hair smoothed back on the left and allowed to hang forward and frame her face on the right. It was two-tone; primarily black with plenty of reddish highlights.

This girl in the cape was so lucky that her impact didn't rattle the containers too badly and blow them all up! And even luckier that the heiress raised her aura in time to shield her entire body when the little idiot sneezed because the errant Dust particles leaking from one of the bottles tickled her nose! The ensuing detonation created a small crater and thin layer of soot over Weiss' entire form (or over her coating of aura, actually) and thankfully didn't char her clothes at all. But it really raised the silvernette's hackles that this younger female who didn't even look of age to enroll at Beacon so blatantly disregarded all safety protocol around the powder!

Weiss was unaware of, and therefore completely ignored, the fact that it was partially her own fault for waving the bottle of red Dust with a loosened cap right in the imbecile's face in the first place.

No matter how much the hooded girl apologized Weiss wasn't having any of it. At least there was recognition of her talent though, when another student with wavy black hair and a large bow of the same color on top of her head returned the jar she dropped during the boom. Then the mysterious and blunt girl ruined _that_ too by having the nerve to say the Schnee Corporation abused their workers and even toed the law!

Snatching the jar out of Ms. Rude's hand the white-loving maiden stomped off towards the large stone arch entrance which everyone else had passed under on their journey to the academy's inner area, leaving the help to restack her suitcases. Now all alone, as the ravenette simply walked away after saying her piece, the only female left dropped to her knees and sighed. Then she fell on her back and closed her eyes while whining about how her semester was off to a rollicking good start.

Until a brown gloved hand with a metal plate reached down with the intent to help her up. Shadowed by the sun overhead, she was unable to see who it was as she grabbed the limb and was pulled to her feet. It was actually a boy with a gentle smile and a sword strapped to his hip. It was also someone that triggered her short term memory, even as he started to speak in a vaguely hesitant voice.

"Hey. I'm Jaune." he said as his full look was revealed to her. He was tall, with untidy dark gold hair and blue eyes. His torso was clad in a black hooded sweatshirt with dark orange sleeves and the thick gloves along with white body armor at this chest, shoulders, and back. His lower half was covered by light blue pants with a white knee patch and two crossed belts and pouches on his hips, the blade holstered to the left of his waist. His appearance made him look strong...but one could easily tell he carried himself shyly.

"Ruby." she replied with a light grin of her own before realization finally struck. "Wait, aren't you the guy who got sick on the ship?"

Jaune Arc's expression fell as Ruby Rose brought up something he sorely wished to forget.

"I wish you hadn't remembered that..."

She laughed awkwardly as the pair began their trek towards the school. At least now she had someone to explore with, since her no good sister left her out to dry.

Darn that Yang!

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><p>"...then I sort of met Weiss when she stopped by the tour at the main industry building, followed her, and asked about Dust. I stopped the big bird from attacking and then we landed and you asked me to come with you."<p>

Ozpin calmly took in the entirety of Naruto's lacking explanation as the pair of men sat across from each other within the large, clockwork-styled room settled atop a rather large tower that served as his official office. All the older man did was ask why they received a distress call from Weiss Schnee's personal transport involving a stowaway followed by a second, more frantic transmission involving a Grimm. The blond's basic appearance was given by the guard...so it really wasn't hard for Ozpin to pick his uniqueness out of the crowd. The thing about his guest was that he didn't provide much detail, which actually wasn't too big of a problem after giving it all some thought. The middle-aged headmaster of Beacon Academy could sense the severity of the teen's aura in spite of him now actively keeping a lid on the power. That, and how Ms. Schnee was seen both safe and secure on the ground while ordering some of her own employees to take care of her things. Nothing in her expressions suggested she'd been assaulted. All of this together explained that even though he had enough power to quite possibly execute a Nevermore from a moving airship the young heiress had never been in any danger from him.

There were still some things he'd like to know though which meant he needed more cooperation.

Meanwhile Naruto had been doing the exact same thing with sizing up his fellow man.

He was tall, and despite the cane he carried while walking he didn't use it to bear much of his weight. Ozpin's hair was disheveled and grey, made to look like he just rolled out of bed or faced down a particularly strong gust of wind and matching his whitish skin. Small and round glasses rested on his nose; darkened glass doubling as a set of sunglasses to protect his thin brown eyes. Matching his tenure as the intelligent boss of Vale's leading school for pumping out defense against the creatures of Grimm, the man wore a black suit jacket left open with matching vest and shoes, dark green undershirt and pants, and an emerald scarf with attached purple cross on its front. His entire ensemble was simple yet still appeared layered and rather intricate like everyone else he came across.

Ozpin seemed exactly how a school headmaster should carry himself. Stoic but still able to smile. Like now, as he finally set down his mug and spread his hands atop the table to speak bluntly.

"You know you're not in trouble, young man."

"It's Naruto."

"Naruto, then. It takes quite an experienced fighter to take down a Nevermore by themselves. I don't need to know why you stowed away on Ms. Schnee's transport to question her about Dust. You had your reasons and no one was hurt save for a few security guards, but it was their fault for losing composure at the first sign of a Grimm. No, what I'm more interested in is _how_ exactly you killed the Nevermore."

At that the elevator door popped open and a brown heel attached to a knee-length black boot slipped inside followed by the rest of the shapely woman who wore it. Following the trend of complicated outfits, Glynda Goodwitch had based hers off a stereotypical and strict schoolteacher. Besides the shoes, her legs were covered by brown stockings and a black pencil skirt hugging her hips. At her waist was a black corset with four large buttons running up the center. Under that, the blonde's upper half was clad in a white dress shirt with puffy sleeves which suddenly tightened at the forearm before spreading out at the wrist, a round cutout exposing the cleavage of her modest chest with a thin green bead clasped at the collar of her throat. But the strangest part? She wore a black cape with an inner purple lining. Across the back it had a line of bronze diamonds...and the bottom was purposefully and symmetrically torn to look like arrows.

Glynda's light yellow hair was pulled back into a bun near the nape of her neck, with a thick strand curled near the right of her face. Severe green eyes which promised no leeway on any mischief stared him down from behind thin rectangular glasses and a fair-skinned face. Having to deal with rowdy schoolchildren on a daily basis, the Goodwitch possessed a low tolerance for anyone who wouldn't act their age or in a mature fashion. So it made sense why the Huntress was staring him down like he greatly offended her.

In her hands was a larger version of the Scroll those guards had owned, which she swiftly placed in front of Ozpin before turning to continue glaring at the younger blond in a way that made him think of Iruka whenever Naruto broke the rules.

"You may not want to know his motives but unlike you, Ozpin, I will not stand for reckless endangerment of any kind. I just finished checking the Cross Continental Transmit and found only a single hit on a 'Naruto Uzumaki' originating from Vacuo as well as a possible match based in Atlas. It's suspicious that this young man barely has any information pertaining to himself for public access." She didn't like how there was a lack of community information on this mysterious child. No former schooling or grades or address. It was as if he just appeared out of thin air and it simply didn't make much sense.

A flick of her deft finger brought up the two different sets of information pertaining to the ninja side by side. One was of his encounter and enrollment with the cops from Oasis, and the subsequent police report of his destruction of the horde of Deathstalkers along with a summary of the origin story he told his interrogator. Ozpin paid extra attention to that as his eyes flickered over the text.

The second was just a curious report on someone matching the Uzumaki's appearance disappearing from the tour group in a puff of smoke. But not before being labeled as a Faunus and causing mass panic among those gathered in the room after dropping his trousers. Glynda only found that one by accident after taking a chance on searching for blue-eyed blonds with whisker marks. Defining features always made the investigation just a little bit easier to narrow down and seriously, not even actual Faunus possessed facial features like his. She didn't understand the sudden reinforcement of people mislabeling him over something that no one else had. And as if he was reading her mind...

"Er, just so you know if that Atlas one says anything about being a Faunus they're wrong. I'm a human. I don't see why people keep freaking out over it, out of all the ones I've seen they never had facial markings."

"You also have no respect for the law!"

"Now now, Glynda. He was not charged with anything according to these reports. There is no police record to mar his documentation. In fact, he was commended for singlehandedly wiping out the pack of dangerous Grimm."

"_That's_ not the point. He also snuck aboard a private airship after terrorizing a group of tourists and then hassled the heiress of the biggest global conglomerate around...to ask her about Dust."

Raising a hand, Naruto spoke again. "In my defense it was a good idea at the time."

She readjusted her glasses by pushing at the bridge with two of her fingers. "Which merely proves my point."

"It also gave me peace of mind, when everything I asked Weiss turned up wrong. Plus she's perfectly fine. Go ahead and ask her yourself. Those guards were knocked out because of everyone reacting to the bird, WHICH by the way, they'd have been in a shitload of trouble with if I hadn't 'broken the law'!" he finished with accompanying air quotes near the end. Technically the security fell over and bumped their heads because of said bird causing the vessel to roll...and the ensuing shockwaves created by his Chō Mini Bijūdama (**Super Mini-Tailed Beast Bomb**)...but they didn't need to know all the finer points.

The woman just pursed her lips at his uncouth inflection and crass language.

"So Mr. Uzumaki...a war, hmmm?"

Naruto deflated and laid his head on the desk, one hand tapping against the wood as the shinobi attempted to gather his thoughts over Ozpin's casual question. The man himself waved off his associate's disbelieving glance before handing back the Scroll and pointing to the section involving his entrance into Remnant. Taking the item Glynda quietly began to read thoroughly instead of skimming this time. Her face never changed no matter how much time passed, but then again she had always been the no-nonsense instructor who only wanted her students to grow stronger and stronger.

Another world? Please.

At least the headmaster kept an open mind.

"You have no idea." Naruto began while looking up. "It's...as far as I know it's over. We finished it. The bad guys were sealed away and we stopped everyone from being drained of all their chakra. I don't feel like telling the whole story again right now."

"Chakra?"

"See that's the thing. You call it aura. But after seeing and hearing what it can do, all I can think of is chakra. You use it to enhance yourself and use it in attacks? So does chakra. But it feels off to me. And then we get to Dust..."

"And I'm guessing this is why you decided to question Weiss Schnee?"

"As someone whose family runs a big company revolving around it, I took a chance and figured she'd know more than anyone else. Dust comes in different colors and let people use the elements." Here he pulled out his single green crystal, flicking it with a finger after placing it on the table. "This is a wind one which also happens to be my own chakra affinity, because a person's chakra is inclined towards using the elements too. The thing is the energy feels off. Like it's not exactly whole. But after my research I've found nothing wrong to speak of. I...didn't have too much to go off of but if Weiss was telling the truth then there's no problem."

"Well...I..._suppose _you believed you had yourself a well-founded reason for speaking with Ms. Schnee...but under the circumstances, you could have found a better avenue to approach her instead of breaking and entering." Glynda admitted as she finished scanning the tablet. The blonde teacher still didn't believe the farfetched tale on her Scroll. It sounded loony. And she'd never heard of chakra or the Elemental Nations or tailed-beasts, and it would likely remain that way.

Ozpin was listening with his chin resting atop his clasped hands, and that was a sign which the pretty Goodwitch did not like.

"Your take on a person's aura is quite intriguing. I've never heard anyone describe it as 'being off' before but, since one cannot inherently change their soul then perhaps it's merely a byproduct of your...separate realm. But I'm curious: what else would you say is a characteristic of chakra?"

"Um...you can't really see it unless a person focuses really hard to create it, or has a lot of it to go around. If you use too much you'll get weaker and weaker before entering chakra exhaustion, and going beyond that it could kill you. But resting will help you recover."

The grey-haired man bobbed his head in agreement. "Yes, that much is similar."

Glynda placed a palm against her forehead as the two continued speaking. She could already see where this was going, and Ozpin was surprisingly hardheaded when he started getting ideas.

"Also, chakra was the real reason behind the war. Uhhhh...well, to make a super long story short, the main bad guy who was actually a girl wanted all the chakra in the world for herself. So...yeah. We beat her though after lots of setbacks, and Kaguya won't be bothering anyone ever again as long as I have anything to say about it." Sighing deeply, Naruto leaned against the rigid back of his chair and looked at the spot on his right hand the Sage's sun used to sit. Ever since trapping her it had simply disappeared from his skin but luckily he still had a hold of Hagoromo's powerful energy...at least for the time being. It was a loaner after all, and the ninja wasn't sure if he'd have it forever. "But here's the main problem. Kaguya was so powerful she could actually rip open holes to different dimensions. It was a hell of a time trying to keep her in one place, at least until she made the mistake of merging with the Shinju and gave us the opportunity to finish it. As we were sealing her away she got all pissy and used the remains of her chakra to do it one last time. Then she knocked me through before the portal collapsed, and here I am. I _need_ to get back but I have no idea how. I want to make sure my friends are okay and that they were all freed from the Infinite Tsukuyomi after Kakashi-sensei cut the root keeping everybody else trapped."

The two adults shared a look, one unimpressed and one intrigued. Everything the blue-eyed boy said made absolutely no sense...and nevertheless somehow still _did_ since Naruto so completely believed his own words. But without proper subtext, a fair bit of his explanation went right over their heads.

"I must apologize in advance then because trans-dimensional hopping has never been breached. Sure, I've heard scientists and intellectuals theorize over such a thing but no one's ever decided to take the leap, or even know if we have such technology yet. And yet here we are, speaking to someone who has done just that."

"You're truly believing everything he says?" the Huntress asked in a defeated tone. Her boss took a sip of his drink and licked his lips in response.

"Let's just say...I don't _not _believe him."

Ignoring the terrible double negative, Glynda pressed on. "Then let me make my own guess: since Naruto would currently be considered a ward of the state due to his apparent...lack of a past here on Remnant as well as having documented battle experience against multiple Grimm, you're going to allow him to enroll here at Beacon?"

"Of course not Glynda. That would just be silly."

The blonde woman's eyes widened slightly in surprise. While she herself was against it, the female hadn't actually expected him to say that. "Really?"

"Of course. According to what we've learned our young friend is already an incredibly gifted warrior who's lived through far more than your average teenager ever should. Joining as a student would simply waste his time and talents...which is why I have a much better idea to help Naruto while he's stranded here in our realm. It's our duty to guide the younger generations after all and any help is appreciated."

Ozpin's lips curved into a small grin as said boy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The headmaster had yet to say anymore on the matter but the lone girl's stomach dropped all the way down to her feet as her logical thought process deciphered just what Ozpin had in mind. It was idiotic. It was completely irresponsible. It was...

Again using her fore and middle finger to push her glasses farther up her thin nose, Glynda shook her head and turned to open the door. "We need to get going. Freshman orientation is starting soon."

It was going to be a major headache for the rule-abiding female.

* * *

><p>"-and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blond, and scraggly over there." Weiss snarked in an exaggerated tone as she pointed a thumb over her shoulder at Jaune who, by this time, was standing alone off to the side and trying not to look as awkward as he felt after Ruby went to join her sister. The glass-ceiling amphitheater was filled with a large number of hopefuls to Beacon's upcoming semester and yet somehow, someway, Ruby and the icy female found themselves standing next to each other within the crowd. Or more like Weiss had been on the lookout for the younger girl's multicolored hair to start round two.<p>

She'd stalked off in anger before but now that her temper had cooled, Weiss felt as if she could continue berating Ruby without interruption.

Ms. Rose's chipper attitude despite the other woman's obvious dislike of her made the silvernette all the more bitchy.

Especially since Ruby's innocence led her to believe Weiss really wanted to do all those girly things with her. "Wow, really?" she asked with undisguised awe in her voice. Maybe making new friends here wouldn't be as hard as she thought. But the scythe-wielder's anticipation caused the mocking smile to slip right off the heiress' abnormally pale face.

"..."

"..."

"No."

Ruby's shoulders slumped as Weiss abruptly turned away and crossed her arms. Thankfully attention was drawn to the stage where Ozpin began speaking into a microphone with Glydna standing off behind in the background waiting for her turn to address the crowd. The headmaster's speech was short and sweet, but the white-loving student felt her jaw drop open at the third person there up on the stage. Orange, black, and yellow; this couldn't be happening.

Standing with her hands on her hips, Ruby's older half-sister Yang Xiao Long remained quietly on the hooded girl's other side listening to the byplay between the two 'acquaintances'. Despite the apparent dislike of her little sister, still interacting with a crabby pants like Weiss was good for Ruby. She needed to branch out and meet more people...no matter who they were. Back home the other girl didn't have many who she called a friend and spent most of her time with Yang. It wasn't a problem per se, but the older sibling _did_ have a life of her own.

One with a personal agenda.

...and hopefully cute boys.

Speaking of which, Weiss wasn't the only one to notice the odd addition standing up there with the two teachers. Yang listened with half a mind to Ozpin and then Glynda's following instructions while her eyes were glued firmly on the blond leaning up against the wall just far enough away to remain an unknown factor. He was up on the raised platform nearly out of sight but his body language showed he wasn't sure what he should be doing. No one asked him to leave so it wasn't as if the man was in a place he shouldn't be. And when they were dismissed by the Huntress, the stranger quickly spoke to the two adults before Ozpin said something and pointed a finger. Ol' blue eyes nodded before taking one leap off the stage and covering the entire span of the auditorium before bursting out the doors in a blur.

Weiss pushed her way through and did her best to follow, completely ignoring Jaune as he tried to say something to garner her attention. Yang gave a low whistle at the total shutdown before the gangly boy could even get a word out, as well as just how much distance the other male got before nudging her sister in the side, who watched Weiss leave with a look of gloom. "Oh cheer up, lil' sis. She's just got a stick up her butt."

"Yang!" the petite scythe-fighter yelled, scandalized. She didn't have to say it like _that_!...because her younger sister was still inherently innocent, even now.

"Besides, did you see how far that guy jumped? Doesn't that just fire you up and make you want to show off your own skills?"

"Well..."

"Now come on, everyone else is going to the cafeteria and I don't want to be the last one left behind."

Ruby was dragged away by her far stronger sibling but once out the door she was allowed to walk under her own power. Most, if not all of the newcomers were actually wandering around with only a few having specific locations in mind, the school-supplied canteen being only one of them. Yang's observation was pretty off but the bodacious blonde never sweated the small stuff. All she really heard was they were to gather in the ballroom when the sun went down. Other than that Yang was more focused on the guy who could make Miss Fussy Britches lose her mind...

It actually caused a spark of rivalry to swell within her breast.

Weiss was totally seeking him out to make a move on the stranger before anyone else could!

Not that Yang was looking to go steady anytime soon, she was a hot young woman after all with a rewarding career looming in the future...but that didn't mean she couldn't network with some good-looking men beforehand. Spurred on by the spirit of competition the fist-fighter began to jog at a faster pace that forced Ruby to keep up. Luckily finding the cafeteria wasn't a chore; besides asking the older students for directions (since they already knew the lay of the land and just had free time until classes started for everyone) the large building wasn't too difficult to find. Along with its size, it was completely covered by large windows that allowed a view of the many tables and vending machines set within, with students eating or milling about.

When the pair of siblings made it inside the first thing they noticed was the table closest to the lunch line/kitchen area was besieged by a stack of ceramic bowls. Most were already empty, their dirty remains piled atop each while the rest were soon to follow. Weiss stood just behind the danger zone with her hands on her hips and a look of complete irritation cracking the icy veneer of her normally pale face...which was currently flushed with emotion as she continued berating whatever was hidden behind the containers.

"What are you still doing here?!" she started as Yang and her baby sister approached with slight apprehension, Ruby more so than Yang. "You're not a student! In fact, you're technically a criminal! Do you want to go to prison?!"

"_Technically _it's your fault for calling the guards in the first place and setting me up. I wasn't arrested at all, so hah." A deeper, rougher voice replied before the sounds of slurping could be heard. Weiss' look of disgust was priceless. "And I was going to leave until that Ozpin fellow stopped me and asked to follow him. He's got some weird idea in mind after hearing my story but hasn't told me or that strict-looking blonde lady what it's about yet."

She paused before a flicker of realization crossed over her face. "No. No way. There is NO way he's planning to enroll you in Beacon."

Crossing the edge of the boundary the two sisters were amazed at the sight of the strange fellow from the stage scarfing down freshly prepared noodles as easily as if he were breathing. Ruby felt a little queasy though, while Yang wondered how the hell he manipulated those chopsticks so darn effortlessly. Not many people used them but there were some places in Vacuo and...maybe Mistral where it was commonplace.

Naruto just wiped some broth away from his lips and regarded the heiress with a dull stare. "Me? A student?" And then he began to laugh. Like, a lot. So much that the three girls and the other curious individuals nearby leaned away out of sudden fear for his sanity. Running a finger under his eye to clear away the tears of mirth, the ninja sighed and turned back to his food. "That's a good one Weiss. I haven't gone to school in three- no wait, I guess it's four now- years."

"So you're a dropout." she concluded distastefully.

"Nope. Graduated bottom of the class and proud of it."

That comment apparently hurt Weiss in some way as she stuttered, and her scarred eye twitched, before finally the thin female gave a scoff of disgust before promptly leaving. She'd been doing that a lot lately. "I can't be around you without my head starting to hurt!"

"You get used to it! Just grab something to eat and come sit back down!"

"Never!"

The whiskered shinobi chuckled before raising the utensils to his mouth again, only to pause when two somethings sat down on either side of him. "Hellooooooo~!" a new, less narcissistic voice called from his left as the one on the right gave him a small wave. Blue eyes flickered over to see the two-toned girl from his arrival wearing the long cloak smiling timidly in his direction. Her shy expression was kind of cute. But if she was here, then...following the memory of seeing her earlier in the day...then the other one must have been the girl who kept her from jumping people over their weapons.

He was right.

Tilting his head he was met with a set of mirthful violet irises set in a pretty grinning face and framed by long, messy yellow hair (yet still incredibly taken care of) similar to his own in brightness and loosely hanging down her back. She had on a tight tan vest/jacket with short puffy sleeves which revealed her stomach, black cuffs at the bicep, and golden trim, kept half open to reveal a low-cut yellow shirt with a black flaming heart symbol on the left side of her ample chest. Her lower half was clad in black bike shorts with a tan half-skirt covering the back of her waist and kept in place by a thick brown belt. Under that but above the shorts was a longer white half-skirt longer on one side which hung down past her thighs. Brown platform boots reached up to her knees, worn over long orange socks of different lengths, with the left leg having a grayish bandana tied above the boot. The female finished everything off with finger-less black gloves, bright yellow wrist bracers, some items hanging on her belt, and an orange scarf wrapped around a slender neck.

If she was blonde and could wear any amount of orange, then she was automatically okay in his book.

"Hi." Naruto greeted back before looking down at his current bowl.

"Um...I see you like noodles?" Ruby lamely said when a short silence descended upon the new group. Yang could only roll her eyes at how inexperienced her little sister really was in these situations. Time to step in.

"My name's Yang, and the one pointing out the obvious is my sister Ruby."

"I'm Naruto. Nice to meet you."

"Wow. Ironic." The Uzumaki snorted at the bustier female's observation since he was expecting at least somebody to crack that joke, missing when Yang began gesturing for the scythe-user to start talking again. She was only here for support...for the moment. Ruby blinked and sat up straighter when a common point of interest finally popped into her mind and motioned for Yang to stop waving her arm about at the back of the blond boy's head.

"So...what did you do to make that Weiss girl mad at you? I accidentally sneezed and blew her up in a minor Dust explosion, and she started to yell, and wouldn't stop, and then she yelled at me some more before the Headmaster's speech where we saw you on the stage, and now she was yelling at you too and...she likes yelling?"

Yang slapped her forehead with a sigh over her sibling's ability to ramble on when she was nervous.

Naruto merely put down the chopsticks and rubbed his stomach. "Well...we had an interesting ride over here from Atlas. I ticked her off but I don't think that's too difficult with Weiss. The fact I'm still around is probably the reason. Can't really tell with her yet."

"So what did you do?" the older of the two asked. Her curiosity was piqued and even Ruby was nodding along in interest. The ninja began stacking his empties and cleaning up the mess as best as he could. Wait, when did he finish off the remains of his food? Naruto somehow did it right underneath their noses!

"Oh that? I just-"

Weiss reappeared as if summoned by the gossip, shoving her Scroll in front of the male's whiskered face and waved it back and forth. "_You_. Professor Ozpin just called me directly through the school's information system and asked that I tell you he wants to see you in his office when you're finished. So go now. And get yourself a Scroll so _I _don't have to be the blasted messenger." she ordered sharply. With a tone of finality ringing in her voice she turned on a wedged heel and left with her dainty nose in the air. Following the headmaster's request wasn't the problem; her being lumped in with a delinquent like the shinobi was. The fact she had only just recently patched her Scroll into Beacon's network and yet their apparent (and unwanted on her end) connection automatically made _her_ his keeper was problematic.

The blonde fist-fighter found herself whistling again in incredulity at the white-head's coldness. "She sure doesn't like you."

"Eh. She's the heiress of a big corporation and I illegally sneaked aboard her private ship without getting into trouble. She'll come around eventually."

Both Yang and Ruby nodded along as Naruto gathered up his bevy of trash bowls and hauled it back towards the kitchen area for the dishwashers before the pair of teenage sisters stopped mid-gesture and looked at each other in disbelief.

"Wait, what?"

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Naruto found himself pushing open the large ornate doors leading to Beacon's vast ballroom. At the moment, the area normally filled with fancy dresses and important events had an entire class of Hunter initiates in their pajamas, fooling around or doing their own thing or even trying to sleep. It was segregated by gender with girls on one side and boys on the other; the jinchuriki hefted the spare sleeping bag dug out of storage and momentarily given to him before walking over to the far end of the male's side and dropping the rolled up object near the large windows where no one else decided to bunk. Unfurling the bag he quickly pulled off his jacket, pouch, sandals, and headband and set them off to the side, before simply putting his back against the wall and releasing his breath in a tired puff of air.<p>

Ozpin wanted him to do _that_?

It was crazy.

Then again he did have some experience in the matter. Not professionally, but the results still spoke for themselves.

But how would he do it? There was so much to do and so many to cater to.

Then again if those guys could handle it then so could he...hopefully.

But they had a much narrower audience. If anything he should follow the guidelines of...

It struck him right then and there. Of course! It fit Ozpin's criteria _and _the Konoha nin knew how it worked. Except he'd have to up the ante. When the time came Naruto now knew exactly how to handle it all. Ah, they'd be so proud to know he was making the best of a shitty situation. But with no way back that anyone knew of it was up to the blond to figure out how to proceed. For now Ozpin had given him a way to live a relatively stable life and he wouldn't turn that down. Better than inevitably winding up tangling with the police again as he wandered around.

"I don't get it. Which one is your symbol? Is it this- oh, it could be _this_! But I'm not sure if it's **this**. Hey Ren! Which one do you think it is?!"

"Nora, don't go through other people's belongings without permission...and use your indoor voice."

"He doesn't mind. See, if he did then he'd tell me so and I'd stop...and this IS my indoor voice!"

Naruto looked up sharply the moment someone started essentially yelling right next to his ear. So absorbed in his thoughts he missed the arrival of a giggly girl rummaging through his meager possessions paying special attention to his hitai-ate and jacket. With chin-length orange(!) hair that feathered out in the back, pale skin, a pink nightgown, and light blue eyes she attempted to tie on the hitai-ate and strike a pose only for someone to quickly stop her from further messing with his things before he could do so himself. The male reminded him of Sasuke: stoic pretty boy features, focused look, black hair although stretched into a low ponytail alongside a pink streak in his bangs...and he had a loud companion.

Eerie.

"Even so." the boy supplied, causing his friend to scrunch up her nose before turning and presenting the metal and cloth back to its owner, her petite hands quickly winding the long ends of the hitai-ate back up to make it appear presentable. She did so rather festively, humming to herself before handing it over with a flourish.

"Ta-daaa~! I guess he's right, but then again Ren usually is. Here you go; sorry for not asking but it just looked _so_ cool."

"Er, it's fine."

Naruto let the item drop into his palm as the female began tapping her lip in thought. She simply ignored the taller student's quiet moan, his manner being that of a person so incredibly used to the rampant behavior by now that he just accepted it as normalcy so it affected him in the least. "Nora, people are trying to sleep. You should really save your energy for tomorrow."

The newly named Ren dipped his head in apology. "Hey, I never learned his name! We could've been new bestest buddies- oh, not that you'd be replaced or anything- oh wait! I almost forgot! BYE! NICE MEETING YOU! Hey Ren, this is _totally_ out of the blue but do you think I could pull off a headband?" Nora screamed as she was dragged by her collar back towards the girl's section and her mind was cluttered up by multiple thoughts all at once. Her arm flailed frantically as she waved and it made the blond automatically return the gesture because of her sheer expressive cheer before realizing he was doing so and stopped. _He_ might have still been loud and obnoxious but it had mellowed with age; the last few months had proven just how serious the Uzumaki could be when it was needed. That Nora girl though...from what he could see it looked like she'd never struck that type of balance.

Running a hand through his slightly damp hair cleaned after that wonderfully warm shower, Naruto refolded the bits of freshly laundered clothing he'd removed and put them back in a pile before dropped and lying down on his temporary bed to try and relax. If he could, that is. There was so much to plan for in what...two days from now? And it looked like he'd have to arrange for both extremes on the personality spectrum. From apprehensive Ruby all the way up to explosive Nora, and whatever was in between. But wait...that wouldn't really matter for what he had in mind, the Uzumaki supposed. As long as their wills held out then personality wouldn't affect it much.

Glynda Goodwitch was against it. But she just seemed like the type to hate surprises. The blond would have actually agreed with her originally if not for the glaring problem of him being homeless, penniless, and adrift in an unknown world. Ozpin was showing him a kindness so therefore Naruto would do his best.

Folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes, the male couldn't stop a grin from spreading across his face that may or may not have been malicious in nature. Blue orbs shot open and Naruto quickly turned to the window before opening it and taking in the cool night air. The guy nearest to the ninja grumbled about the sudden change in temperature but other than that there wasn't much of a fuss. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and so it was with that mindset that freshly made clones of himself were sent off to scour the grounds and get a lay of the land. The jinchuriki would need space for his grand plans and doing so beforehand would probably look good on his part.

Somewhere near the other side of the room he heard the unmistakable squeak of Ruby's voice filtering over the muffled ambiance of the room's quiet chatter, followed by Weiss' distinctive bossy tone. Shaking his head the blond closed the window; those two just kept going at it. But...eh, it wasn't him the heiress was gunning for anymore so that was good at least. He might've said back on the ship she could yell at him all she wanted later...but it was a lot nicer when she spoke in an even tone of voice and he would've preferred her to be amicable towards him. Or anyone really. Like that Ren guy, or Yang.

A portion of the female's side suddenly lost its light as someone in a short black robe snuffed out a candelabra used for creating just enough illumination so those who were trying to sleep weren't bothered, but those who were awake could still see. This seemed to start a chain reaction as other candles gradually began to wink out one by one until the large room was bathed in darkness. The only glow left was from that of the oddly fractured moon beaming in through the windows. Well that...and there were a few sets of eyes in the darkness that gleamed unnaturally in spite of the shadows covering their owners. They too finally disappeared as their owners closed them and the last of the students finally took the hint to rest.

Naruto was probably the only person in here who didn't have to wake up early tomorrow for an initiation test. Count him lucky on that, even though anything was probably better than Kakashi's bell test. While it hadn't been a dangerous thing to undertake, that darn thing was just set up to screw with Team Seven's mind and probably let the old scarecrow beat up and humiliate a bunch of preteens, the darn bastard.

Even now his clones were finishing up their sweeps, allowing a rough map of the facilities to settle in his mind. Although the campus grounds were quite large, most of it was taken up by the buildings and intermittent walkways. But the few who dared to venture outside its gates found long stretches of grass and even a large lake off to the side. Further beyond that was the start of a small forest that lead down the valley towards Vale itself. How nostalgic...it reminded him of the lands around Konoha a bit.

Yeah, he could work with that.

* * *

><p>Despite the minor nuisance of a foot nudging him in the ribs, Naruto continued to ignore the annoyance in favor of trying to find another comfortable spot. But it persisted, as did the quiet voice accompanying it, as the person standing over his body persisted in trying to wake him up. Ultimately giving up on being allowed to stay in the warm spot the blond yawned and sat up slowly while his muscles twitched from the change. Unfocused orbs blinked lazily as their owner yawned again and scratched his scalp while the other boy on his feet simply looked relieved his weak attempts actually worked. He didn't want to be too loud and draw the other's early morning ire.<p>

"...sorry to wake you but everyone else has already left to eat breakfast." Jaune stated, no longer clad in the childish PJ's he brought from home but instead in his regular clothes and chest armor. Naruto nodded sluggishly at the stranger's explanation before unwillingly slipping out from the confines of the sleeping bag and began redressing. In the quiet lull, as they were the only two left among a sea of empty blankets and pillows (and Jaune didn't want to walk around by himself and get lost again like a loser), the young Arc saw this as another chance to make a friend like he did with Ruby. He stuck out his gloved hand like his dad taught him to do as the orange-centric blond finished tying on his long headband. "I'm Jaune Arc by the way."

"Hm? Oh, Naruto Uzumaki." As the two shook on it Jaune sniffed and leaned away, causing the ninja to grimace. "Sorry...it's been a few days and I don't have a toothbrush."

"I've got a few extra packed away just in case. Would you...like one?"

Naruto grinned and turned to start rolling up his bag. "Thanks man. That'll really help."

"So if you don't mind me asking, how come you came to Beacon without something as simple as a toothbrush? I mean you could have had some reason to I guess...and I suppose it wouldn't really affect you as a student in any way."

The two were making their way back to the cafeteria to get some food in their stomachs; Jaune hoping to keep it down under his mounting nerves and Naruto uncaring in the long run. The rest of the masses could already be seen inside and the pair of blonds quickly grabbed an empty tray each and a bowl of awaiting cereal. The Uzumaki sage already had a mouthful of the oddly pumpkin-tasting/marshmallow-sweetened oats by the time the two sat at the end of a busy table, swallowing the sugary bits and feeling like just he ate a large mouthful of candy. "Not a student. Long story."

The messy-headed male looked confused at the statement with his spoon sticking out between his lips. "Bwuh?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'll be around awhile but thankfully I don't have to take any classes."

Jaune felt his shoulders droop as he tried to comprehend what that meant. "...I don't know whether to say you're lucky or not." Because while the boy with self-confidence issues came to the school to grow stronger his tuition also meant days of boring lectures and homework. The person opposite himself merely flashed a crooked smile before returning to his food. Seeing as his new buddy was finished talking for the time being, the Remnant native followed suit to finish his own meal and try to get some energy for the day. Others were already finishing up and he was intent on finding his locker and retrieving the family heirlooms from inside.

That pretty teacher assigned each newcomer a personal high-tech storage unit yesterday but...knowing his luck Jaune would have a hell of a time trying to remember which was his. Naruto noticed and felt his declining melancholy mood but completely misinterpreted it thanks to the teen's silence over the matter, making him wonder what was making Jaune feel all mopey all of a sudden. Oh, right! They all had that big test today. And Jaune didn't exactly seem like the get up and go type. Or the rise to the occasion type. Or the skilled but unknowing as of yet type...

Drinking down the dregs of horribly sweetened milk in his bowl, the shinobi wiped the excess away around his mouth and slapped a hand on the table. The abrupt action and loud clap startled the hesitant Arc as well as the others sitting around them. "Don't worry about what happens later Jaune. Thinking about it too much right now will make you worry unnecessarily. You'll be fine."

Startled by the advice he simply nodded his head at the encouragement. "I hope so, but thanks."

"No problem. Now let's go get that toothbrush!...this cereal is making my teeth hurt."

Jaune chuckled and stood up to follow Naruto and drop his bowl off, the two passing by a girl sitting at the adjacent table behind where the powerful jinchuriki formerly sat, her bright green eyes watching them leave in polite interest. She had been (unknowingly to the pair) listening in on the conversation out of sheer curiosity. The female was feeling lonely due to her own unique situation distancing the others at the table from speaking with her, simply because they were awestruck or nervous. With nothing else holding her attention the woman deigned to merely let the background noise wash over her to pass some time and, well, the blonds weren't exactly speaking privately to each other so she didn't feel bad about doing it. Other students would stop by to gush over how much they admired her and similar things of that nature, but they would already decide she was too famous to hang out with compared to the regular people and find an excuse to leave as soon as their respect for her was known. The girl frowned at the very idea; was she really so off-putting?

So deciding instead to quietly eat the rest of her eggs in peace she eventually wondered if it would be wrong to try and join in on their robust conversation and start her own attempts at forming new bonds because hey, why not take a chance, only to stop and listen instead. While it was odd that the orange one proclaimed he was not enrolled at Beacon Academy she found it impressive he picked up quickly on the other one's low mood and promptly tried to cheer him up. It was a sweet gesture towards helping his friend...and on a separate note she wholeheartedly agreed with the opinion of proper oral hygiene.

Brushing the long red strands of her ponytail back over her shoulder, Pyrrha Nikos stood to follow suite towards rediscovering her locker and hope the ones who ate Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes didn't ruin their chances at passing because of any upset stomachs. Though she endorsed the breakfast cereal per the clauses in her contract ...there was no way in hell she'd ever touch the stuff herself. It just wasn't healthy. And to serve it here at Beacon didn't really seem like a good idea when the kids were trying to maintain a healthy body and sharp mind.

Choosing to give some aid because it was the right thing to do Pyyrha decided she could at least keep an eye out on this Jaune fellow during the test in case things became too much for him. Comrades helped each other, and she needed no other reason to convince herself.

* * *

><p><strong>Ahhhh...my first flame-like review for this story. I'm glad to see people enjoy it, as I write to entertain both myself and the readers, but it's expected that there are those who dislike it for whatever reason. So anyways I will say thank you anonymous reviewer for at least liking the first chapter, but I must admit the abrupt assumptions you made based off only two beginning chapters are effectively wrong. There's a whole big thing on the horizon and it doesn't involve what I think you're thinking. Something <em>much<em> different is looming and I'm not following the norm here seen in other crossovers like these. I don't want to say much on it because that could give things away but I will say that another reviewer actually put some of it together already.**

**Happy Candy Eating Day, people. Decided to finish the end of this for the holiday. Read and review, please. Let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4:<p>

* * *

><p>Jaune looked around desperately, unable to remember which locker was exactly his among the rows of duplicate, slim boxes placed against the room's walls. Naruto was completely unhelpful as he sat on one of the plain wooden benches and watched his fellow blond blunder about; then again it's not like there was anything he could do regardless. Jaune Arc was the only one who knew where his stuff was supposed to be so all the grumpy ninja could do was wait to get that elusive toothbrush. Leaning forward with his hands propped against his cheeks the blond watched some of the other students go through their last minute adjustments and conversations before they headed out to the field.<p>

Yang and Ruby were arguing over teams.

A black-haired female in a monochrome-with-purple color scheme was quietly wrapping a black ribbon around her right arm, amber-gold eyes intently focused on the task at hand.

Jaune was wandering about, hoping something would jog his memory.

Weiss was desperately sucking up to some girl with vibrant red hair in a ponytail and vivid green eyes lined by a similar shade of eye shadow, strapping on bits of bronze armor to her tallish frame. It was the hair color that made the blond do a double-take after originally looking around and then peer closer.

Slender but developed, Pyrrha possessed a body type similar to Yang's but just a bit more firmly muscled. An intricate circlet looped around her skull above her ears and under her bangs with small green gems hanging from thin chains; a bronzed gorget was also clasped about her thin throat. A shoulder-less armored top over a strapless v-neck revealed the topmost of her cleavage, and a belted red miniskirt hung down to Pyrrha's thighs with a longer flowing red cape-like accessory tied around her skirt with the length flowing about her ankles. Attached to the belt was a small circular plate near her right hip bearing her personal symbol of a shield and spear. Both arms were covered in bicep-length brown gloves and the redhead's left forearm had an attached bronzed bracer (and a band around her bicep) similar to the rest of her protective coverings. To top it all off the gal possessed elaborate greaves protected her legs with heeled brown boots up to her calves.

Naruto winced when he noticed the heiress say something to which the other girl responded positively, making Weiss look away with a rather devious expression. This was followed by groaning as Jaune decided to take a break from his search and, of all things, hit on the Schnee. Pyrrha saw this as an opening to formerly introduce herself since her eavesdropping this morning but the blond was so focused on the cold beauty he paid little attention to his equal in height...only to swiftly shift gears to try and place his charms on the celebrity after getting a good look at her. Naruto had to hand it to him: Jaune had confidence in one department at least.

Overhearing their discussion, the shinobi learned her name was Pyrrha Nikos and that she was some kind of celebrity. Jaune started to gush over it and the blond rolled his eyes.

Unable to take the posturing anymore the jinchuriki clapped his hands against his lap and stood up, walking over to the other boy and promptly lifting him by the back of his collar in a show of strength the others still in attendance hadn't expected of him. The swordsman hung there helplessly in front of the smaller blond before finally the whiskered youth set him down and folded his arms across his chest. "While it's pretty entertaining watching you hit on Weiss-"

He got an icy glare for the trouble. "Not for me."

"-and this Pyrrha girl-

"Hello!"

"-I really need that toothbrush."

"Oh! Sorry Naruto, I forgot!" Feeling embarrassed the hooded male's eyes flickered between the two ladies before rushing over to locker 636 and tentatively inputting his unique six-digit code. With a slight hiss the door opened and Jaune twitched in surprise. So it _was_ his locker!

"Nice hair color." Naruto said with a nod to Pyrrha before walking away, who blinked her emerald eyes in puzzlement at the backhanded compliment while Weiss shot him a look of scorn. Nothing was said about her status, or looks, or the praise about her accomplishments. But...simply the shade of her hair. That was now _two_ people today who didn't recognize her by her appearance or freak out over her skill. Jaune and Naruto. Normally a celebrity would feel annoyance at not being identified on the spot...but Pyrrha was secretly intrigued over how they saw her as just another regular teen.

Naruto's excuse for the lack of knowledge was him being from another world while Jaune just didn't pay much attention to that sort of thing.

A hand appeared suddenly at the Arc's side and groped within before pulling back with the knight's assistance, an unopened toothbrush and tube of toothpaste grasped by the fingers as Naruto pat Jaune on the shoulder before walking away. Seconds later Glynda's voice piped in over the loudspeakers and Jaune hastily shrugged on his family's _Crocea Mors_; the familiar weight of the sword and sheathe/shield comforted him slightly under the looming trial only moments away. Exhaling quietly, the Beacon trainee straightened his posture and closed the cabinet.

"Good luck, Jaune." Pyrrha said cheerfully with a small wave before she and Weiss vacated the room. Following her was the silent ravenette in the skintight leggings, and though he tried to appear confident in his steps he had to hand it to Yang and Ruby for staying with him all the way to the Beacon Cliffs. The two sisters sticking around was quite comforting and he thanked them for the fact before they arrived and took the final three slots in the row of Hunters waiting for their mission to start. He could do this, he could do this...

But Ozpin's instructions worried him.

Watching his fellow students launched one by one over the cliff side worried him even more.

His legs buckled underneath him as the blue-eyed knight lost his balance and went flipping end over end through the air, squealing in a way that wasn't exactly manly as the plate he stood on fired him like a catapult into the Emerald Forest.

Ozpin took a drink of his coffee and watched the flying children grow smaller and smaller in the distance. Glynda already had her eyes glued to her Scroll, switching through the different camera angles set up from the base of the cliff stretching all the way to the small shrine where their targets waited. It was _a lot_ of hidden devices but when something with aura passed by their sensors it would notify the blonde Huntress and let her choose instead of constantly flipping through the channels and hoping she found something. Brownish eyes took a peek at the stoic Huntress and he smiled into his mug. The headmaster's part in all of this was currently done for now...god, did he love the ability to delegate.

Five minutes later a soft crunch of grass underfoot announced a latecomer to the party, though all apprentice Huntsmen and Huntresses were currently accounted for so it couldn't be any of them tardy for the test. The pressure of a large aura field, however, explained it all by sensation alone. No one else he ever met possibly possessed such a massive reserve of energy. Not even Port...no matter how much the robust professor liked to brag. "Ah. Mr. Uzumaki. Thank you for meeting with us."

"Well...yesterday you did ask me to come here once the others' exam started."

"Indeed." Turning around, the older gentleman saw his younger companion rolling his shoulders to loosen the joints. "Have you given any thought to your plan for tomorrow?"

"Yup. I've got a few ideas."

"Good to hear. I can't wait to see what you have in store." Inhaling some more of the steaming liquid in his cup, Ozpin steadily spun back around to continue watching over the forests down in the valley.

Naruto stared at the grey-haired man before bright blue irises looked over as the Goodwitch beauty nose deep in her Scroll released a soft hum. She looked up and nodded, clearing her throat before she stepped forward with the look of a professional in the middle of doing her duty. Which technically, she was. "Mr. Uzumaki, do you own a Scroll?" He knew exactly what she was talking about...but considering who he was and the fact he _did not_, when the boy pulled out a small paper cylinder from his back pouch the teacher looked rather un-amused.

"Of course." he said with a cheeky grin.

They would have to correct that later if Ozpin got his way. Stifling a sigh, the blonde woman pushed pressed a few buttons on her screen. "You may be wondering why you are here while the students are off beginning their careers here at Beacon Academy. As it is, I've reserved a school mission to...test your capabilities. While Professor Ozpin sees fit to simply take your word for it, I prefer a physical showing to check your level of skill. Our staff are made up of highly qualified Huntsmen and Huntress graduates, of which you are clearly not. Therefore I wish for you to seek out and destroy a nearby infestation of Beowolves who ventured outside of their normal territory and have been multiplying rather rapidly. Normally this would involve one or two experienced teams due to the possibility of high danger presented by the number of Grimm."

Years of practice helped Glynda school her features after dropping that bomb on Naruto. No matter how good the blond believed himself to be, the idea of facing down a whole horde of the beasts without a squad to watch their back would make even a seasoned veteran think twice about the danger. The entire idea was her plan to make the Uzumaki back down. The instructor did not trust him with the students' wellbeing so readily...or at least not before she understood him better.

All the whiskered male had to do was refuse. Ozpin agreed that a personal examination wouldn't hurt anyone, which was why the blonde mage scoured Beacon's student job log for something appropriate. Skeptical or not she didn't want to see him injured out of hubris, which was why Glynda had chosen one with plenty of risk involved to create doubt. If he felt it was too hazardous and backed off...then no harm done. The end.

"Sure. I can do that."

...of course the boy would just accept like that. The invincibility of youth clouding his judgment so readily. Just in case Naruto actually chose the more foolish of the options presented, the Goodwitch woman had a second-year team on standby to cover all angles and provide support from the shadows.

"Are you certain? There's no harm in declining."

"No, it's no problem. At least Beowolves have a kinda normal name." Naruto crossed his arms and stared at the two adults with a rather dry expression. "Nevermore and Deathstalkers? Dumb."

Ozpin's mouth quirked from behind the rim of his mug.

"Yes, well..."

"But before I do anything, can you tell me anymore about the Grimm? All I really know is that they look like animals and attack humans."

"They are destructive creatures, taking on many different forms similar to the shapes of regular animals as you are already aware. Unlike other living things however they lack aura. They have no soul within them to harness. Our ancestors exploited this fact once Dust was discovered to work well against them and to this day all everyone at least knows the basics of controlling their aura for offensive and defensive purposes. But in turn it is nigh impossible to properly locate Grimm due to their missing energy signature. Plus they are drawn towards humanity's negative emotions and will amass in areas with large amounts of envy, greed, despair, and so on. Their size equates to experience; the larger the Grimm, the longer it has survived and learned to pick and choose its encounters. While smaller Grimm are singularly focused on killing, their bigger counterparts are far more dangerous. They know how to watch and wait and strike at the perfect moment your guard is down."

"Negativity huh? I've already accepted my own hatred and made friends with Kurama so there goes my most powerful sources of anger..." he muttered to himself. Walking to the grassy edge Naruto stared down at the wide forest of large trees stretching off into the distance. The sight reminded him somewhat of the view outside Konoha and he reveled in the familiar feeling for a moment before sobering and focusing on the task. Glynda said the Grimm have no soul huh? And therefore no aura to feel out.

Well that made no sense at all.

Well, he'd already done this once before and it was quite different from what he was used to but if he was going to finish this quickly...then sage mode it was.

"What are you doing?" the female mage asked of the blond as he dropped into a seated position and closed his eyes.

"Trying to focus."

"I hope you realize there _is _a time limit for your performance." Glynda stated before trailing off as Ozpin raised a hand to forestall anymore arguing. This was a test of ability after all and therefore the grey-haired man was keen on watching whatever the shinobi had up his sleeve. The stern instructor pursed her lips but consented to the silent demand all the same. They didn't have to wait too long though; Naruto was back on his feet in no time flat.

During the silent argument between adults, the Uzumaki had already ascended into a state of mind far different from the norm, of which only those who achieved the same status could ever truly understand. His senses expanded far beyond the normal five as the whiskered boy reached out with his chakra and simultaneously drew the surrounding land's energy within himself to create a balance. Compared to when he first started out it only took a few scant moments to do so. Just like when he used the Six Paths Sage Technique, a whole new world opened up before Naruto as he became one with nature. But what was so different from what he was used to...was the fact that humans weren't the only ones he could feel.

Everyone's energy signature was completely unique although family members shared some similarities between them. But once he could put a name to a face, their inner power only took a little longer to recognize. Which was why Naruto knew that the klutzy blond Jaune was walking alongside that courteous redhead...uh, Pyrrha. And how poor shy Ruby was trudging behind Weiss' innate coldness, and that crazy Nora was bouncing around the stoic Ren guy. Yang's explosive aura had died down as she fell in line with some other student he had yet to meet, and throughout the woodland everyone else was pairing up, or fighting, or running away from a threat. All of them were drowning in varying degrees of pessimism at completing the quest without injury or death hindering their progress, and living up to the professionalism of the Hunter title they all sought.

But these things belonged to the ones with a soul.

The sage also knew that Pyrrha and Jaune were walking right towards a rather powerful Grimm. Possibly a Deathstalker if he was reading that form correctly. Yang had just finished pounding an unfamiliar form of Grimm into the ground. And..._oh_, Weiss. Maybe Nevermores just didn't like the snooty heiress.

Negativity attracted negativity. Perhaps that's why the monsters were drawn towards the murkier emotions emitted by humans and Faunus, because they themselves were nothing but a roiling mass of darkness in a physical shell. Kurama's ability, shared by both halves of the same whole, was what let him focus on the negative sensations and use that as a guide. It was very handy and he could maintain it to a lesser degree without the fox's cloak empowering him. It was how the Konoha nin knew something was wrong back when he was in Vacuo's desert, and why on the Schnee airship Naruto felt like that innocent black blip in the distance was _more_ than just a black blip. Now he fully understood why they had set off his radar in spite of never meeting one before. But it wasn't only the biju's power which allowed him to sense the Grimm.

With sage mode activated, in one fell swoop the outsider rejected the tried and true _fact_ that Grimm were without any source of energy.

Naruto just didn't understand why he was the only one given the circumstances. Breaking expectations and acting unpredictably was just in his character though so there sort of was an explanation. Not a very viable one, but still something nonetheless. Standing up and looking towards the west, the now toad-eyed jinchuriki heard Glynda gasp and even Ozpin make a small noise of surprise as, to their senses, his aura simply vanished. Oh sure...they could see him and such but if they didn't know any better the two would have claimed he'd died and no longer had any sort of soul.

Raising a fist in front of his body the boy clenched it tight and borrowed his tenant's chakra to enter the state of his upgraded Nine-tails Chakra Mode for the first time since he lost the original yang portion of the Kyuubi and unwillingly swapped it for the yin. With the biju's assistance, sage mode remained in sync without a loss of balance as the blond temporarily shelved his own energy for a boost in every stat.

Bright energy exploded across his flesh to form a secondary skin of powerful chakra. Normal bluish eyes, having already shifted to gold with bar-shaped pupils from the senjutsu technique, morphed even further from the vulpine's influence into orange with cross-shaped pupils. From his head to his feet, Naruto glowed whitish-yellow with an orange-tinted outline, black markings spreading out over his body and a long coat materialized over his torso. Yet the only change he was unused to happened to be the flickering aura of shadowy flames wafting off his figure. They seemed to only be an aesthetic feature born of the spiritual half though; other than that he didn't notice much of a difference.

The pair of faculty from Beacon were taken aback by the abrupt change. They had no idea what the hell Naruto was doing, because to them he no longer had any aura while being lit up like a flood light. How that worked, they hadn't a clue. Turning briefly the former blond nodded his head only to return his gaze towards a far valley beyond the Emerald Forest where a centralized cluster of negativity/energy resided. With Kurama's help his boost in parameters was immense, but still within reason. Six Paths Sage Mode was tremendously overkill and the land would not remain in its healthy condition even if the boy held back. Plus it was incredibly draining...but then again the Grimm, while durable, could still be taken down in a simplistic fashion. Regular sage mode could handle it...hell, just fighting without any power-ups could do it if he hit them hard enough. But this way it didn't take too long to reach his objective...ah, he was over-thinking it. "Okay. I'm going. Be back soon." Before anyone could say anything else he vanished on the spot, the lone visual aid marking his departure being a quick flash of dazzling illumination.

Unknown to any...most, if not all, of the nearby Grimm currently not locked in combat perked up instantly at the feeling of Kurama's powerful yin chakra.

Ozpin tilted his head and looked at Glynda with a faint smile that made the woman sigh. Pressing a button on the screen of her Scroll, the instructor waited a moment as the electronic handshake connected before speaking into the teleconference function of the device. "Team CFVY (Coffee), are you in position?"

"_Yes ma'am. We've remained on standby and maintained a fair distance from the horde per your instructions._" A feminine, accented voice piped in over the speaker as a member of the second-year group responded to the question. On the screen was a small picture of a girl with long brown hair and similarly colored rabbit ears sprouting from the top of her skull.

"Good. You are to remain as backup. Only provide assistance should Mr. Uzumaki appear to be in trouble."

"_Um...are you sure about this? I-I mean...all together it's only five people against a large group of Beowolves. While I'm certain of my team's strength in handling the issue, I simply...fear for this Naruto person fighting on his own._"

"It's quite alright Ms. Scarlatina. I daresay your team is about to witness quite the show. Mr. Uzumaki is on his way right now." Ozpin commented, following the slight trail left behind in Naruto's wake towards where the wolf-like Grimm were known to be hiding out. An idea crossed his mind when the dapper gentleman realized they had no cameras set up in that quadrant. "Oh, and if possible please record as much of the action as you can."

"_U-um...yes sir, headmaster._"

Velvet's voice winked out as the call abruptly ended. The timid Faunus and her squad would handle that end on their own. But while that was happening, Glynda would continue to monitor the trainees for any sign of trouble they couldn't handle. Which still meant there wasn't anything else for him to do here. Normally he would stick around and help the woman monitor the students but there were still a few forms for him to fill out concerning their new *ahem* employee... and it wasn't like he couldn't have his Scroll out on his desk. Finishing off the last dregs in his cup Ozpin readjusted the grip on his cane and began to leave. "I'll begin preparations for the induction ceremony after I finish Naruto's paperwork. Call me if anything problematic arises."

"Of course, sir."

Ozpin was confident everything would work out. The search for relics never ended in tragedy, with the worst outcome being a few failures for those who either couldn't retrieve the object in question or bowed out under the difficulty. The multiple explosions and gunshots that soon followed only made him stop for but a moment to take a quick look back before continuing on his way. My, my...it seemed the crop of testers this year were quite energetic...

* * *

><p><em>After the students were launched but before Naruto showed up:<em>

Yang snarled savagely as the bear-shaped Ursa waiting at the edge of the tree line paused before attempting to run away into the woods. The corpse of its slain brother was left to rot as a sign of her victory, the crushed and broken body already beginning to decompose into flaking, smoky bits. When she accidentally stumbled into a pair of the beasts she figured it was no big deal. But when one took a swipe at her and ripped free a single strand of her beloved tumble of yellow locks, painstakingly cared for to look decisively messy, well the fist-fighter let her Semblance take over and the rest was history. Using that fiery rage gave her the additional power to easily decimate these low-level Grimm but she lost her edge when the one she still hadn't joyfully beaten into a pulp tried to rush back into the forest like the hounds of hell was after it. It was an odd sight...but it sure as hell boosted her confidence.

The buxom female remained blissfully unaware that her skill only factored slightly into its retreat. Sure, the creature's limited intelligence realized it wasn't a match at their current rate, but it was the sudden influx of an undetectable (to humans) and powerful energy that drove it to leave.

Her lingering anger came to a dead stop as the remaining Grimm fell to ground with a couple rounds of Dust bullets lodged in the unprotected backside of its neck; another girl dropped from the cover of the tree tops and Yang noticed it was the one from last night who made it painfully obvious she had no interest in making small talk with herself or Ruby. But the violet-eyed student's emotional state had already done a complete switcheroo upon believing she scared the Ursa away and was continuing to grow as the seconds passed. Even the other female's silent stare couldn't put a damper on her new poise and she threw a self-assured wave in the ravenette's direction.

"Oh hell yeah! I kick ass, and now I have my partner! We are _so_ gonna ace this thing!"

Blake Belladonna rolled her amber-yellow eyes but saw no reason to refute Yang's claims. Compared to the short pajama-yukata of last night the disguised Faunus now had on a buttoned black vest with coattails underneath her medium bustline, of which was worn over a sleeveless white shirt that exposed her stomach. She wore a pair of white shorts with zippers up the front of the legs with black stockings reaching up under the bottoms that gradually turned purple the closer it got to her black feminine boots. Both leggings had a white symbol of a flower on the thigh.

Her black hair was similar to Yang's though a touch less messy and a bit shorter, with a few strands that always curled inwards towards her pale face. Also, like Pyrrha, she liked to wear eye shadow although Blake's was a light purple instead of green. Her accessories happened to be the black bow that never left her scalp, black ribbons around both wrists, and a detached black sleeve over her left arm held in place by a silver band. On her back was the multi-purpose _Gambol Shroud_: its scabbard doubled as a cleaver, and the ninjato sheathed within could fold into a sickle-shaped form. When attached to one of the reinforced ribbons the girl carried around she could manipulate it like a chain scythe...or she could simply use the compact pistol which was built in as the sword's hilt.

It honestly seemed like an incredibly fickle weapon to use with all its transformations but the female could still control it just fine. As the blonde allowed her gauntlets to receded back into wristband form Blake returned her own weapon to its spot against her spine and studied the body of the Ursa that tried to escape. The quiet beauty did find it odd though that the Grimm acted as they did. It hadn't tried to flee from Yang so much as acted as if it found something more important to get to instead...

* * *

><p>Jaune stared at his hands as the whitish energy surrounding his limbs tapered off and vanished, the feel of his newly unleashed aura sending a rush of power throughout every muscle. The cut on his cheek healed up nicely too thanks to Pyrrha's intervention on the matter. He had...grown somewhat flustered when she pulled up next to him and gently touched his cheek but the sudden upwelling of strength in his body circumvented the embarrassment.<p>

He was quite happy that the redheaded Nikos became his partner because she was nice enough to overlook his lapse in knowledge of rudimentary hunting prowess. She seemed like one of the people least likely to raise a fuss over Jaune's mistakes.

Plus she smelled rather nice and...oh, best keep that to himself. All he needed now was his partner to think he was some sort of deviant when the truth of the matter was his experience with the opposite sex was incredibly limited. His mother and sisters didn't exactly count. It would be loads better for his reputation if the ladies believed he was as suave and confident around them as he acted. I mean, just look at how well it worked so far. Pyrrha hadn't slapped him or anything for hitting on her and even reacted positively while Weiss...she'd come around eventually.

But that awkward swirl of thought was overshadowed by the feeling of warmth in his chest at unlocking the use of his aura. It made him feel good. _Real _good. Better than he'd felt in years, and there honestly wasn't much wrong with Jaune after the seventeen years he'd been alive on Remnant. There'd been bumps, bruises, and scrapes but never anything dire enough to leave his systems at less than working capacity. The blond took care of himself, ate well, and exercised, especially after deciding he'd make his family proud by deceitfully forging his transcripts and enrolling at Beacon to live up to his ancestors' legacy.

With a new attitude at taking another step towards becoming a Huntsman the male Arc began leading with way with a gently smiling Pyrrha at his side. It wasn't so bad but after walking without any sign of a 'relic' anywhere the twosome began to think maybe their path wasn't as clear as they originally thought. The opening of a cave looked rather promising despite the rudimentary paintings left on the stone near the entrance depicting stick figures with spears and bows chasing a large scorpion. Considering there wasn't much else to go on, the partners decided exploring it was worth a shot.

Jaune only took four minutes of banging two rocks together before he gave up the notion and finished his makeshift torch with the aid of a match and strip of excess cloth. To save face the knight decided it was only proper he led the way into the dangerous and unknown cave to prove his mettle. That...and because he was the one who made the source of light in the first place. But just in case there _were _any problems the armored gladiator kept her double-edged sword/javelin/rifle triple threat _Miló_ drawn in its blade form while her shield _Akoúo̱ _remained on her back, ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice.

The boy seemed confident in his course and Pyrrha had made the silent promise back in the cafeteria to provide assistance to the obviously misinformed male. While she didn't exactly agree that this was where the relic could be, she was happy to at least go along with the decision for a little bit at least. Jaune was different than most other people she'd ever met...innocent in a naïve and goofy sort of way. Plus back at the locker room he'd barely known who she was until her cereal endorsement was brought up. It was ironically heartening for the swordswoman to be seen that way.

So for now the green-eyed female would watch his back until she found the proper moment to lead him back on course.

...

...

...

Uh...that glowing orange object couldn't actually be their prize, could it?

* * *

><p>The large snake Grimm's head exploded as its broken fang was shot directly through its eye and into its brain thanks to Lie Ren's aura-enhanced palm strike. King Taijitu were mobile, agile creatures despite being essentially two serpents attached at the ends and if it hadn't been for his own aura blocking its teeth the young man would have wound up as a snack for its conjoined stomach. The black half was lifeless but the white portion still had enough movement to be a nuisance...even with the dead weight hanging off its tail. However the remaining snake's red eyes were focused on something else. Its tongue flickered out between its lipless mouth and multiple fangs before the Taijitu looked between the human recovering his discarded weapons and whatever else had its attention.<p>

As Ren readied his dual _StormFlower_ bladed submachine guns to strike, magenta orbs completely focused on the opponent, the Grimm shook its head and came to a decision. Winding up its body like it was surrounding something at its center the rotations allowed it to lash out with its headless corpse of a tail, striking the boy who was sent flying into a tree just as he started to run forward. Despite the pain in his spine the worst of the damage was softened by his internal energy and he opened fire at the rapidly approaching face. Dust bullets pinged off its scales but accumulated enough damage to its skin to sufficiently cause the creature to react and lose focus; hisses of displeasure slipped from the Grimm as the black-haired male rolled out of the way in time and the King demolished the trunk Ren had leaned against.

Nora watched from that very tree as her best friend went up against the King Tajitu and totally wrecked half of it despite a few mishaps in his combat form. But then the beast stopped and seemed to drop into thought before doing something rather creative and whipping the boy with its other half. The orangey-haired warrior winced as he struck her hiding spot but continued to silently cheer for Ren, although that was a pretty cool thing the Grimm did despite being their enemy.

But then the goddamn snake broke her tree fortress where she was hanging upside down and totally ruined her grand plan of making an entrance. How could she make sloth noises to follow up on her claims and alert the black-haired boy to her presence now that she lacked a branch to hang upside down from? That...royally pissed Nora Valkyrie off.

If the snake had legs she'd totally break them!

As her tree began to tilt and fall Nora spun around, planted her feet on the trunk and pushed off with a roar while simultaneously pulling her grenade launcher _Magnhild_ free and unfolded it into its primary war hammer form. Her jump arc had taken the lively teenager above the pale serpent and as she began to fall the girl pulled the trigger and fired an explosive canister of Dust (pink in color with a heart symbol stamped on its front) from the rotating chamber into the air where it exploded harmlessly in a blast of rosy particles and jolts of electricity.

However...each action always has an equal and opposite reaction. The Valkyrie shot the grenade skyward with her powerful weapon to create extra force to propel her towards the earth at a far faster speed than gravity would create at that height. Spinning to add even more power into her swing Nora smashed the flat end of _Magnhild _onto the King Taijitu's head right on the crimson marking both halves possessed and slammed it into the ground with enough strength to crush its skull into broken little bits.

The Grimm didn't get up after that.

Ren brushed off his jacket after allowing _StormFlower_ to return to its compact forms and slid them into his long sleeves of his combat clothes. They were composed of a long green tailcoat with gold trim and black highlights, golden fasteners in place of buttons near the black collar, and pinkish cuffs that stopped at the forearm. Underneath that was a secondary skintight black shirt, of which his weapons wrapped around when not in use. His white pants were slightly baggy but still didn't leave too much extra fabric for an enemy to grab hold of, and Ren finished it all off with thick black shoes acceptable for fighting. All in all...had Tenten been around she probably would have adored the male's style in clothing as it was similar to her own tastes.

Throwing his misplaced ponytail over his shoulder the mellow man with a streak in his hair then stepped back as his friend leaped over with her arms in the air and a huge frown on her face. "Did you see that?! I was waiting in the tree to totally catch your attention with my spot-on sloth impression after you won but then that darn snake destroyed it! It just doesn't work properly without hanging upside down and _being_ the sloth!"

Nora huffed and crossed her arms across the black collared vest/white sleeveless shirt with a heart-shaped cleavage cutout over her modest chest matching the emblem of her explosives. Her waist showed that she also sported two extra fabrics of red over blue, with oddly-shaped armored trim running along the length of her multi-layered top. On the back of the vest was her personal symbol of a hammer and bolt of lightning, currently hidden by her weapon's compressed shape. A strip of pale blue fabric was tied in a bow above her rear to act as a belt with a simple pink skirt hanging down to her thighs. To round it all out the orangette had on finger-less pink gloves, detached white sleeves/elbow guards, and white sneakers with pink laces and accents.

Normally the girl was all smiles and it took a great deal of disapproval to make her frown, but the destruction of her carefully crafted plan to become Ren's partner had fallen apart at the seams. No one else would have ever suspected they were working together from the start! But she needed the proper environment to bring it all to a head!

What she seemed to forget was once they locked eyes the two were now partners regardless. Dark pink had met turquoise more than once already, in fact. But Nora's peculiar mind wasn't registering that reality at the moment.

"Nora-"

"WAIT! I've goooot it~! Stay right there Ren! I know how to fix this all up so we can still be partners and no one will ever discover our secret plans!"

Lips quirked as the young Lie's childhood friend attempted to scramble up a second thick trunk to start anew. "Nora, your plan was to become partners by finding each other while calling out like a sloth. But the two of us have already met the general parameters of pairing up anyways."

The normally expressive girl stopped as she digested the martial artist's words before her sullen mood did a complete 180 back into proper, cheerful 'Nora territory'. Snapping her fingers the female was instantly at her friend's side and did a happily little jump, hands curled near her face while the bubbly Valkyrie's lips split into a familiar smile.

"You know what? You're _absolutely_ right!" Pointing towards an Ursa that lumbered into the grassy clearing on its way towards Naruto's disturbance, her giggly grin turned somewhat menacing despite the chipper attitude. She had a plan for that walking bag of darkness. "So let's kick its ass and be on our way, buddy!"

Pulling out her massive hammer the Grimm felt confused by her stance. Nora was emanating a focused amount of negativity...but it was pointed right at the Grimm. Had it been smarter the thing would've turned and ran away to survive another day. But it was still young by Grimm standards and reveled in her emotional state.

It was a very big mistake to make.

* * *

><p>High, high, <em>high<em> up in the air an immense Nevermore sailed on the warm updrafts, occasionally flapping its mighty wingspan when needed. From its talons hung the diminutive figures of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, clinging on for dear life and arguing over how they got into this mess in the first place. Or more like the silvernette continued blaming the younger girl...which was actually correct this time. After accidentally creating a small forest fire because their teamwork was nonexistent, the fifteen year old destroyed a tree out of anger at Weiss' antagonistic attitude. That tree just so happened to alert a Grimm to their location. Therefore her actions brought the wrath of the Grimm down on their heads.

Through a series of unfortunate events in trying to escape the monstrous beast Ruby came up with the bright idea of hitching a ride, Weiss loudly exclaiming it was a terrible idea but going along anyways so as not to wind up alone, and now the pair were far too high up for their liking. There was a constant wind shear buffeting their bodies and one little slip up would send them falling to their doom. The Grimm didn't even try to dislodge them, lazily waiting for either to lose their grip as it sailed about with a smug sense of animalistic satisfaction.

This was hell!

And the damnable Nevermore wasn't even near the Emerald Forest anymore, having turned at one point. It was pretty clear the two pre-Huntresses were moving farther and farther away from the relics they needed to pass. It was heading towards a darkened valley...which upon closer inspection when they got within range was now a literal sea of writhing Grimm bodies...save something bright yellow zipping around them. It was so fast it left behind an afterimage of itself, which wasn't anything more than a glow...and was continuously wiping away the black stain on the land like a powerful eraser.

The Nevermore was now starting to descend towards whatever the hell that was, adding to the growing nervousness shared by the teenagers.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"I GET IT ALREADY! STOP TELLING ME THAT ALREADY AND TRY TO THINK OF SOMETHING!"

"LIKE WHAT?! SHOULD I ASK THE GRIMM TO PUT US DOWN NICELY?!"

"STOP COMPLAINING! UNLESS WE FIND A PLAN THEN WE'RE DEAD, WEISS! EITHER THE FALL WILL KILL US OR THE NEVERMORE WILL DO IT ITSELF!"

"OH, THAT MAKES ME FEEL **SO** MUCH BETTER!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! I'M SCARED TOO BUT AT LEAST I'M **TRYING** TO SAVE US! THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING!"

Weiss' teeth clenched as the big bird dove again, sending her stomach careening into her throat from the sudden drop. She knew there was supposed to be Grimm in this test. It was just another obstacle to tackle. But...WHY WERE THERE SO MANY LARGE VERSIONS AROUND BEACON?! THIS WAS A SCHOOL DESIGNED TO TRAIN THE GRIMM'S MORTAL ENEMY! There were honest to god Huntsman and Huntresses working at the flipping academy and yet this...this...this was totally IRRESPONSIBLE!

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE! RUBY! WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN MIND?!" She mentioned she was trying to save them, which meant the young Rose has some sort of plan in mind. The Schnee did her best to look over her shoulder at her young partner, only to find the spot where Ruby was supposed to be holding on to suspiciously vacant. The small shred of hope in her chest instantly turned to disbelief as the fencer realized one terrible truth about her fate. "...SHE LEFT ME!"

Weiss cursed her partner before choosing the lesser of two evils...and simply let go.

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><p>The four teenagers comprising Team CFVY shared a look as the distant throaty howl of a Beowolf pierced the air. The quartet were hidden in the tree line overlooking the valley, watching from afar over the large gathering of Grimm with varying emotional states. Having already completed their first year at Beacon it felt a bit incredulous just to sit there and not take care of the problem themselves. Upper-level students were allowed to undergo missions permitted by the headmaster, as well as any freshman who proved themselves so long as an experienced Huntsman or Huntress was there to oversee the trial.<p>

Team CFVY was one such team who established themselves as a competent squad early on. Their collaboration with each other covered any weaknesses, the two males fighting up close and personal while the pair of females could switch from long-range support to another set of heavy hitters in a pinch. Not even the fact there was a Faunus on the team caused any problems. It was the perfect example of the two races co-mingling together peacefully...although that didn't stop others from trying to cause trouble in their stead.

Yatsuhashi and Fox's stern expressions usually kept the bullies away from picking on their friend and when that didn't work...well, you didn't want to cross Coco.

"Anything interesting happening yet?"

Yatsuhashi shook his head at Coco's question, the binoculars in his hands trained on the dangerous wolves while it slowly raked back and forth for any inconsistencies in their ranks. The young fashionista sighed and continued running the nail file over her manicured fingers while she sat on a downed log with one leg crossed over the other. Why they let the man of few words be the lookout, she had no idea. But he was the one who volunteered and so, why not?

"I say we give it five more minutes before taking care of the problem ourselves. So long as the Grimm are removed I don't think there will be much of a problem." Fox said quietly, his voice sounding soft but still surprisingly firm in the hush of their little campground. He stood next to his much taller buddy and stared at the boring sight of a bunch of ugly shadow beasts snarling at each other and lumbering around on their spindly legs.

Velvet, from her perch on a high tree branch, was simply there to get a different perspective on things. "Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin seem interested in allowing this Naruto person the chance to do it himself. I don't think we should destroy the Beowolves without at least getting the okay from one of them first."

"Does anyone even have any info on this guy? Is he a new student? Or...?"

"Ugh, who knows." Coco cut in, slipping the piece of metal into her pocket and stretching out her back. All this waiting was seriously cutting into her free time. She could have been lazing about in her room or down in Vale looking for some new stylish clothing before the freshman ceremony but _nooooo..._

Her Scroll vibrating, Velvet quickly pulled out the device and answered the call from her professor. The others listened in before the slender brunette cut off the communication and peeked down at them from the branch she was kneeling on. "Apparently he's on his way."

"Finally." Fox said before his brow creased as the taller man next to him suddenly stiffened. "What's wrong?"

"The Grimm...they've all stopped what they're doing. They're looking towards..." Yatsuhashi memorized where all their snouts were pointing before following the line of sight and trying to discern the angle and location. His deep voice sounded confused. "Each and every Beowolf suddenly stopped and started looking towards the Beacon Cliffs."

"That can't be right..." the single Faunus whispered as an interested Coco stood up to join her teammates. As the leader of CFVY, now that things were picking up she couldn't sit back anymore and wait.

"What do you think it means?"

"The Grimm have never exhibited this type of behavior. At least none that I've ever heard about."

"Do you...think it relates to the freshman?"

"Possibly. But there's no way to tell."

Coco's eyes appeared over the rim of her aviator sunglasses as she leaned forward and used her fingers to grasp and lower the frame down the bridge of her nose. Even from here she could see how they were unnaturally still before they all started moving in the direction they were staring with a singular determination. It was incredibly odd and didn't bode well for anybody. Pushing the specs back to their proper place the second-year quirked an eyebrow and began issuing orders. "Alright Team CFVY, it looks like things are starting to get interesting and the main attraction still has yet to show his face. That means _we're _in the spotlight now. Velvet, update Professor Goodwitch. Tell her I don't feel comfortable waiting any longer and if the main event doesn't show in the next ten seconds we're moving out."

None of the other three questioned the slender girl's instructions as they prepared for battle. Velvet had already dropped down to ground level while Yatsuhashi had removed his large cleaver blade from his back. Fox's unique bladed gauntlets unfolded around his wrists in a matter of seconds. Coco lightly fingered the strap of her incredibly heavy purse and the foursome nodded to each other.

Luckily it took only _two _of the allotted ten seconds for shit to go down.

The Grimm began to roar in a frenzied matter as a bright golden flash filled the valley clearing, instantly drawing the attention of the Beacon students. The tallest member of group was the first to recover, blinking at the sight before retrieving the binoculars to see what the fuss was about. "...I think that's him. I've no clue what he's doing, but his entire body is glowing and seems to be...flickering like fire."

"Perhaps it's a Semblance?" Velvet supplied, trying to be helpful. Yatsuhashi simply shrugged before nudging his fellow male with his elbow.

"Record it."

"I guess that _was_ the order, huh?" Fox looked at Coco as his head tilted back slightly in question. The stylish woman just bit her lip before sighing again.

"Yeah, yeah...everyone, we're still going in. But spread out and don't engage unless the Grimm target you or begin fleeing in your direction." There was no need to mention how they would jump in if Naruto became overwhelmed. With her hip cocked to the side and a fist pressed against her waist, the leader couldn't help but make one last parting remark. "And do try to get some good shots of the action, people."

The V,F, and Y of Team CFVY couldn't help but grin at Coco's blasé attitude even in the growing tenseness of the situation. Soon enough they were all sprinting their way down the hill into enemy territory, able to clearly see that the huge influx of Grimm had already surrounded the lone combatant in their midst with no chance for him to run away. Velvet and Fox, being the fastest of their faction, had already pulled ahead to run to the far side of the vale's outskirts while the remaining pair spread out to do their own thing.

And in the middle of it all, Naruto looked out at the sea of bony masks staring back at him and decided this wouldn't be a problem. The animals were a bit larger than humans, bipedal in nature and their muscular bodies stood with a slouch. The only adornments beside their helmeted faces were a row of sharp spikes set along the spine and poking out from the forearms and elbows. The Beowolves growled and huffed and appeared to be confused before ultimately realizing he was just another human...albeit very different in nature.

But that in itself was a major reason for him to die.

The moment the first one rushed in to attack with its pack mates hot on its heels, Naruto had already begun formulating his battle plan. His right arm was thrown out to the side while the left was held in front of his body in the half-ram seal. From out of his back sprouted a large, claw-like hand formed of pure chakra which arced over his head and left behind a row of fully formed Rasengans (**Spiraling Spheres**) in its wake. Time appeared to slow down as the first wave of Grimm leapt into the air, bleached white claws aching to rip him to pieces, and the Uzumaki merely clenched his teeth in a confident grimace.

In the next moment those Beowolves leading the charge were torn apart as the sage-enhanced Rasenrengan (**Spiraling Strife Spheres**) were thrust outwards through their forms by a plethora of energy limbs, the act marking what would soon become utter devastation on the side of humanity's greatest enemy.

Soon after, the area of the valley exploded in a cacophony of light, chakra, and bloody Grimm residue.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't recall it ever being specifically stated but I'm going out on a limb here and making the assumption that the leaders get their initial first in the teams. RWBY Ruby, JNPR Jaune, CRDL Cardin, so CFVY...yeah.<strong>

**Not much else to say. More character introductions, and next chapter should bring about the end of the initiation section of the series. I keep listening to Volume 2's opening (thank you iTunes) and it makes me want to work on this story. Volume 1's is good...but 2's is just great.**

**I did well on both my midterms but now I've got two big projects to finish up and not much enthusiasm towards doing so. But it has to be done. So chapter 5 should at least be done during Thanksgiving break...maybe.**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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><p>Chapter 5:<p>

* * *

><p>Watchful eyes paid special attention to the cameras as the few remaining students began pairing up within the Emerald Forest. Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose...the heiress and the special case. It would be interesting to see how the two contrasting personalities would mesh after being given time to bond. Though the red and white pair had vanished from view and could not be found...which was an oddity in and of itself. Yet they were both strong, albeit stubborn, and there was no doubt in mind they would reappear in good health.<p>

Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna. Noise and silence. There didn't seem to be any noticeable problems with this partnership although it was possible there could be eventual friction between them. The blonde was pushy and loud while the other enjoyed peace and quiet. But it was too soon to tell as of yet.

Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren...Ozpin could already hear Glynda lamenting over how unlucky that poor boy was. The older man _could_ see her side of the discussion though. The girl had just corralled an Ursa into being an unwilling taxi before dragging Mr. Lie along for the very bumpy ride. It was most likely a sign of the sorts of things to expect from her.

Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos. Now that would be something to pay attention to. The celebrity/combat champion and the student who thought he pulled a fast one on the ol' headmaster. Jaune actually did well in counterfeiting the proper forms but this wasn't the first time someone attempted to infiltrate the school. But why did Ozpin not call him out on the obvious fakery? Because it wasn't the first time something like this happened and there was always more to it than meets the eye.

Beacon was a school for training specialized warriors. Only those with the proper requisite conditioning from lesser schools were allowed in. Or, that was what the rules stated. But the difference in thinking between Ozpin and the other bosses of the academies in his fellow kingdoms was the fact Ozpin liked to take chances. Why should Ruby Rose, a skilled Huntress apprentice, be forced to wait two more years at a place that would continue to treat her as a mere apprentice and allow her talents to stagnate? It was wasted opportunity.

Same with Jaune...although this was based off the potential the Arc supposedly had because of his past family members.

Sure, he hadn't expressed much ability in a fight yet but he was willing to learn. His personality needed plenty of hardening though. Soldiers were molded here, no matter how much someone prettied it up to justify a job based around extermination. All of humanity was in danger of the Grimm menace and they couldn't be finicky in who they chose to fight. Yes, Huntsmen and Huntresses were tasked with protecting mankind and killing the monsters but essentially it was more of a job title with incentives attached to the name. It's not like they were the _only_ ones who could fight the creatures of Grimm. They were simply trained better to lower their own chances of death.

If this was what Jaune was willing to stake his life on, to fight like his forefathers and subsequently go through the tedious trouble of faking transfer papers, then his heart was set on becoming a Huntsman despite the stickler requirements of the predecessor schools...of which the blue-eyed boy most likely didn't meet. Combat capability wasn't all that Beacon looked at though; leadership and quick thinking was also a must. And besides, it was better that he discover how demanding this lifestyle was while there was still a safety net to fall into should something go horribly wrong.

Call him cruel but Ozpin had been at this for years. Pyrrha Nikos was the best partner Jaune could have gotten and as luck would have it, he did. Ozpin expected great things of all his students. The challenges ahead would make or break the boy, and either let him grow stronger...or find himself unable to cope with the danger.

* * *

><p>Unlike every other Grimm in the valleyforest area outside of Beacon, the Deathstalker chasing after the frantically sprinting Pyrrha was too focused on catching its prey to make the choice to break off its attack. She, and the foolish boy who was sent rocketing through the sky with one flick of its tail after escaping from the cavern, had disturbed its rest deep within the underground grotto. Due to its immense size this Grimm was one of the older and experienced types who survived the Hunters' oppression over the years to amass its current power. So it already knew that every lesser Grimm in the territory was currently zeroing in on the abstract source of power like grains of metal to a magnet. There was no need to mention how they would jump in even if Naruto never became overwhelmed.

Once it destroyed the insignificant redhead and the others who were now attempting to help the human, _then _it would seek out the intimately familiar energy and take it...because while the creatures of Grimm easily followed the stereotype of wanting to destroy the aura-users...there was always a greater purpose for everything.

Blake, Nora, Yang, Pyrrha, Ren, and a slowly recovering Jaune unfurled their weapons when the Deathstalker cornered them near the old rundown temple and the remaining chess-shaped relics waiting within. As it hissed and clicked its pincers, whitish armor cracked and covered in patches of grass from its years hibernating underground, the blonde boxer raised her _Ember Celica _shotgauntlets and wondered where in the world her sister could possibly be.

'_Be safe, Ruby._'

The three sets of partners took off as the large stinger shot forward in a sign of aggression, and the battle was on.

The six teenagers began to run knowing it was too strong to face straight up without any plans. But these old abandoned ruins still had a multitude of stone pillars and damaged walls standing about, things that they could use to their advantage. Without a word they broke further into two groups of three and ran in different directions: Nora, Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren, Yang, Blake.

Unable to follow the both of them the Grimm decided to go after the ones who disturbed its rest. Pincers lashed out as the insects it hunted jumped and rolled through the gaps in its swings, the blond one screaming a bit while doing so. Jaune was booking it as fast as he could, Pyrrha at his side with a look of determination in her bright green eyes and Nora on the other with her incessant giggling. Making a giant leap forward the ginger-haired Valkyrie spun around and raised _Magnhild_ before planting her feet, tensing her muscles, and swinging the large hammer upwards in a powerful sweep.

The flat head slammed into the bottom of one of the Deathstalker's limbs and knocked it skyward with ease, the show of physical strength surprising those who didn't know Nora well enough yet. It worked _so_ well in fact that the scorpion staggered back unable to stop its pincer from moving involuntarily and leaving itself wide open.

The moment the Xiao Long came out of her somersault and saw the Grimm stagger she began throwing out punches one after the other. With every thrust of her fists a gout of fire shot forth. Despite being a 'shotgun' style of firearm, the fireballs did not scatter into bits and flew in a straight line that could travel farther than regular shells. Plus they exploded on contact. So Yang started hitting it in a spot she believed might cause some damage...its ass. The Grimm's back was to her and though its underside were similarly armored, it still was much thinner than the plates over its topside.

The Grimm shrieked and slapped out with its tail, awkwardly twisting and hitting Blake who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ren was barely able to leap back with guns blazing. "Sorry!" Yang yelled as her partner grunted and spun away, receiving a glare once the ravenette righted herself and hobbled back into the fray. It was a perfect example of how inexperienced they were as a team, and as the young woman's amber eyes watched Pyrrha pull a frantic Jaune out of the way after he miraculously used his shield to deflect a hit and let it slide off to the side, she knew something had to be done before they inadvertently helped the Deathstalker finish them all off.

They could kill it, sure. But all their experience was from facing smaller Grimm in controlled environments. Blake's former affiliation meant there had been occasions where tougher Grimm were fought and destroyed, usually when they showed up during a mission, but it was with others she had known for years. Right here and right now it would take on-the-spot planning and the complete compliance of new comrades she barely knew.

A metaphorical light bulb clicked to life above the girl's head as Yang's body lit up with a fiery aura when her Semblance activated, allowing the now raging blonde the extra strength to wrestle with one of the creature's pincers and keep it from moving. Her boots dug into the ground and ripped up sod but the Xiao Long did not budge any further. Her muscles tensed and Yang grit her teeth tightly but the Deathstalker's arm remained firmly locked, even as its owner tried to free itself. A few quick slices from the magenta-eyed dual-wielder blocked the tail from penetrating Yang while she was otherwise occupied.

However...

"That's it." the shadowy Huntress-in-training murmured before her head shot up and she began to run. What was the orange-headed one's name again? "Nor-um, Nora! Follow Yang's example and keep its other pincer from moving!" Because if the girl could use her weapon to knock the beast for a loop with one swing, then Ren's partner was incredibly strong and had the power to also do what the pretty blonde was currently doing.

"Got it!" came the cheerful reply before the Valkyrie swung _Magnhild_ yet again and prevented large claws from piercing through the lone blond male's neck as he backpedaled. With a dangerous roar she spun on her heel, simultaneously rolling the explosive war hammer behind her back, before delivering a second blow to the top of the Deathstalker's limb and planting it solidly in the dirt. Every time the aura-less creature tried to lift it the shorter girl pulled the trigger and used the leverage to knock it right back down again.

Meanwhile Blake's durable ribbon slipped around the junction between the stinger and segmented tail while the other two fighters kept their burdens in place; _Gambol Shroud _moved like the chain scythe she expected and Ren was there to catch it after the length tied itself up. The concealed Faunus now gripped one end while the stoic boy held the other. By themselves, their muscles weren't enough to stop the thing limb from lashing about. Even combined, the most the two teenagers could do was keep it elevated, and that was with the addition of their aura. Plus this was as far as she had foreseen doing. Take away its biggest weapons and leave it unprotected. Finishing it off would still be difficult and four of their six party members were stuck in a stalemate.

But it was enough.

Jaune and Pyrrha rushed in towards its unprotected face, the male having caught onto what the dark-haired girl had in mind once he noticed they were effectively de-fanging the scorpion. It wouldn't last forever, and the amateur tactician in Jaune understood this, so by the time Nora, Yang, Blake, and Ren were scuttling into position he had already gathered the feminine gladiator to his side and quickly explained what he believed Blake was attempting. By binding its limbs and keeping the Grimm in place it could not use them to attack.

The Arc however took the preparation one step further.

By its size and patches of flora growing along its armor, the Deasthstalker had been around for quite some time. By the scars and way it seemed to think instead of instinctively react, it knew how to fight multiple people at once and remain standing. Its entire body was hardened and there were barely any weak spots to take advantage of. Yet one thing Jaune understood was that no matter who or what you were, the face was one of said weaknesses. Videogames, movies, television...hell, even in real life obviously. No matter how tough a person or animal was their eyes were just fragile little things. So was the fleshy inside of the nose if they had one...

...and the inside of the mouth.

Jaune _really_ would have loved to let Pyrrha take the lead but he was trying to use Beacon as a way to man up. So he was right there at her side as they rushed in close with their blades held out in front of them with the sole intent of stabbing them inside the Grimm's vulnerable mandibles. The reinforced carapace was meant to protect the inside. Bypass that and even the most durable of things would find itself incapacitated, or worse.

The renowned Nikos had slightly longer arms due to her taller frame and therefore a greater reach. Add in the length of _Miló _and anyone could have guessed that Pyrrha would hit home first. Her sword pierced through the upper half of its inner mouth and then further in, to where its brain would be. The blond knight was but a moment behind as he too thrust his weapon in with a yell. Ironically the scorpion's fangs did absolutely nothing to stop them. They were dangerous, yes, but mostly aesthetic. Had it been something bigger like an actual body then the Deathstalker could have clamped them shut to hold the object in place. But it was just two thin little arms and the swords held by them. Jaune and Pyrrha were back to back with shields out in case it got one a limb free. There was enough space to remain away from its last line of defense.

Under the obvious deathblow the creature of Grimm shrieked, convulsed, chittered something, and ultimately fell heavily to the earth and moved no more.

The six teenagers breathed a sigh of relief as their greatest enemy finally died. Silence reigned as they each collected themselves before Nora suddenly gave a whoop and automatically high-fived Yang (who was waiting for _someone _to not leave her hanging) before they all began congratulating Blake and Jaune on their contributions. Both looked equally flustered: the beauty because she preferred being out of the spotlight and the gangly swordsman because getting prominent praise like this was a new concept for him.

"So has anyone seen Ruby? Short, big scythe, red hood?" the developed fist-fighter asked now that the danger had passed, hoping to hear some news about her baby sister. No others had though and when the Arc piped up about an equally missing heiress, Yang found herself growing worried. Her protective instincts over her sibling were kicking in because it wasn't like the younger girl to miss out on something big like this. With her speed Semblance, she'd have appeared at some point by using it to show up after likely hearing the pitched battle.

They were also still in the immediate area of the relic sight. It was possible Ruby (and Weiss) had already nabbed their prize and left...but she highly doubted that. Something felt off. Face scrunching up, the long-haired warrior turned and began jogging back towards the other relics and grabbed the knight piece that matched hers and Blake's. Just in case, ya know. She might not have been the smartest of the bunch but even Yang Xiao Long understood that there were two copies of each piece and therefore there had to be some significance.

When a massive boom and accompanied pall of smoke exploded off in the distance, somehow...someway...Yang believed her sister was involved. Call it family intuition. And the fact trouble was usually drawn to one of the sisters on a regular basis. Just look at her scuffle at Junior's bar, and Ruby's excitement at the Dust shop only a few days prior. Since the older blonde was over here and the detonation was _waaaaaaaay_ over there...then signs pointed towards the second of the two daughters being implicated.

Oh great.

Breaking into a run, Yang didn't heed her partner's calls to stop even as Blake began chasing after her. The others looked confused until it was quiet Ren who pieced together a fact that caused the remaining Hunters to decide to follow the hotheaded teen's lead.

"...she's moving in the direction all the Grimm were fleeing towards."

It wasn't long after that Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune reluctantly followed out of curiosity and worry over the well-being of their peers. There was safety in numbers after all. And there was a Nevermore currently circling the airspace over the explosion. With what they accomplished against the Deathstalker, it looked like the additional help would be highly appreciated.

Things would easily be taken care of but none of them actually knew that yet.

* * *

><p>Ruby could hear Weiss' cry of incredulity but by then she was too far away to do anything about it, falling like a stone after willingly letting go. There was literally nothing else either of them could do and the Grimm had at least descended enough that she wouldn't shatter every bone in her body andor die on impact. So long as she found something to break her fall then at least her aura could cushion the drop and heal some of the damage.

The large pile of Beowolves down there looked like the perfect target...so long as she missed the sharp spines jutting out from their figures.

Aiming for the largest collection of the creatures she hoped her luck held out, falling spread eagle to try and slow her speed as much as she could. A cry of fear slipped out from between her lips, wishing Yang was there in some way, shape, or form to inspire confidence like her older sister was so good at doing. Oh...she was going to get such an earful later. And this was going to hurt so much!

Or it would have until something hooked around her midsection and abruptly stopped the two-toned adolescent from splatting against the Grimm. A pair of abnormally warm arms hugged against her as she blinked in confusion, the breath she lost while screaming quickly returning to her lungs as she greedily gulped down air. Ruby wasn't exactly falling anymore...in fact, she was going back up. It sort of felt like the vertigo similar to the time she jumped on a trampoline and bounced really high. The escape from the planet's pull, when you could no longer rise but gravity had yet to take hold... yeah, it was similar to that.

"Ruby? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice asked in her ear as they simply floated over the valley, while said girl automatically returned the question after realizing who it was.

"What are _you_ doing here Naruto?" They were so high up and- "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR ARMS?!"

The blond chuckled at her sudden screech. Wasting no time she frantically ran her hands over the limbs holding her close and marveling at the way they burned without searing anything. The dark flames were an odd touch although Ruby was surprised she didn't feel any pain from the fire. "There's nothing wrong. I'm just in the middle of Grimm extermination. You're the one who shouldn't be here. Oh, wait a moment."

They were starting to fall again but instead of looking towards the ground Ruby wiggled about to try and see what he was doing. Naruto's focused face was one thing but she found herself captivated by the rest of the immense transformation he had undergone. While looking inherently the same...the ninja just was lit up like a star with thick black markings all over his form and orange eyes split by weird pupils. A weak whimper of amazement and a matching expression of awe overcame the short student when a large clawed arm erupted from his back and lashed out towards the sky like a fishing line cast out from the reel.

A screaming Weiss was safely brought down into the fold, blue eyes wide from shock as she tried to comprehend what was going on. Her head jerked towards Ruby from her spot in the faux limb's grasp and, in typical Weiss fashion, she covered her emotions with a practiced air of angry superiority. "You left me!" she accused before rounding on her savior. She didn't question his big transformation because the things he did were just so dubious by now and and expecting him to act normally was a chore. "And why are you here too?!"

"You're welcome!" the jinchuriki shouted back before raising a thumb to his lips and biting down to draw blood. Many of the Grimm had amassed underfoot while waiting for the blond to return to the earth and it gave Naruto a grand idea of removing a large amount at once. He'd already thinned the herd and this would wipe out nearly the rest of them while simultaneously allow him to do something he'd been meaning to do since yesterday. The scythe-fighter stuck out her tongue in disgust at the sight of the reddish liquid before he released her from his embrace, only to follow the heiress' example and be grabbed by a second chakra limb. "Get ready for a bumpy landing you two! Kuchiyose no Jutsu (**Summoning Technique**)!"

The handseals were finished in a flash before the bloody runes defied physics and spread out from his palm in midair; a rapidly expanding mass erupted underneath the trio in the blink of an eye and every unfortunate Beowolf in the wide expanse of the landing zone were crushed flat in mere seconds. A loud explosion was followed by the land shaking under the immense weight of a large toad holding a tanto acceptable for its size and smoking a huge cigarette. With dark rusty orange skin, a sleeveless blue jacket, belly wraps, and a beaded necklace, Gamakichi looked around in confusion before realizing his hindquarters were throbbing with a dull pain.

"**Ow! What is this?! Who summoned me?!**" Because the only one left alive on the contract was... "**...Naruto?**"

"Hey 'Kichi!"

The amphibian's golden eyes screwed upwards to look at the boy riding atop his head, thick irises noticing the extra pair of bodies tentatively standing atop his pebbled scalp. "**You have a lot of explaining to do asshole!**" he boomed, deep voice echoing across the valley before casually stomping on a rare surviving Grimm that bit him. "**Last I saw you was when we were collaborating against the Juubi, and then later on we received a messenger from the slugs stating you finished the job but were blasted through some sort of portal! Do you know how worried Ma is? No one can reverse summon you because of your amount of chakra, not even Pa!...and what the hell did you call me into this time?**"

Another unfortunate Grimm was smashed into a pancake by the butt of Gamakichi's sword as it attempted to claw his toe.

"Ooooookay...we are on top of a giant...talking...w-whoa there!" Ruby couldn't finish the sentence as she wobbly attempted to find solid footing as the toad's head moved. Weiss wasn't faring any better and had given up all pretenses of looking professional to keep a death grip on the edge of Naruto's flowing jacket after being released from his unexplained extra arms. He stood without fear and didn't stumble whenever their new perch adjusted itself and therefore he was the one who would keep the silvernette from tumbling over the side.

Naruto looked over the edge of the summon's brow ridge and counted the amount of remaining Beowolves left. Only six when they originally numbered around sixty...which was supposedly _a lot_ concentrated around one small area. But they still had the Nevermore to deal with and more black shapes were beginning to appear on the periphery; extra Grimm from the Emerald Forest were migrating towards the chakra-using animal and, more specifically, the powerful human riding on its head. "Well...it's like this: the Sage of Six Path's mom was sealed away inside the Ten-tails but we were able to stop her when she took over Madara after he became the Juubi's jinchuriki. But the bitch had some kind of technique that opened holes between dimensions and she slapped me through one before the end. I wound up here, some place called Remnant that reminds me way too much of the Elemental Nations in some ways. But since I have no idea how to get back home I found a way to at least make a living for the time being until something positive comes my way."

"**And that involves these annoying little animal things?**" Gamakichi backhanded a few roaring Ursai and sent them skittering like sacks of grain back towards the trees. He rose up slightly, causing the girls to squeak, and looked underneath his former seat with a grimace. "**You son of a bitch...I'm gonna be picking their thorns out of my skin for days!**"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Oh come on, we never even got to do a proper Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu (**Food Cart Destroyer Technique**) before and now you're complaining?! And anyways they're like...the Zetsu clones I guess if you want an example. Want to destroy humanity and such. I was tasked with getting rid of a bunch of them but more keep showing up."

Despite his annoyance Gamakichi blew out a large cloud of smoke and sighed. "**I see. Do you need my help then?**"

"Well since you're here if you don't mind taking out the flying one then, that'd be great. I'll mop up the stragglers. Their bodies are tougher than they look so be mindful of that. But it's nothing we can't handle."

"I-I'm going too! You are not leaving me up here on this frog!"

"**...well I don't want you on my head anymore either, girly! Get my species right!**" Weiss screamed again as the summon dipped its skull and momentarily caused the 'ground' beneath her feet to disappear. He had been forced to draw its sword and deflect projectiles sent their way from the Nevermore, making him eye the flying beast in distaste. The monsters at his feet finally learned it..._probably _wasn't such a good idea to attack the huge animal but the bird still had distance on its side. "**So who are your **_**lovely**_** new friends?**"

"The loud one is Weiss and the fascinated one is Ruby. Technically they should be over there-" He pointed off towards the outlying forest where a few distant explosions had finished tapering off.

Ruby quickly tugged on his ethereal sleeve. "You're right! We _really_ need to get back over there Naruto! I don't want to fail!"

The glowing blond bit his lip at her words, eyes dropping into slits as he concentrated, before the ninja smacked his fist into the other palm. "Okay. I got it. 'Kichi, get ready to move out. You two..." Naruto wrapped an arm around the girls' waists despite their protests. "Can you wait a little bit longer?"

And then he jumped over the side with two surprised Huntresses in tow.

The moment the brightly illuminated shinobi slipped past Gamakichi's eyes the toad clapped his spindly hands together and molded his chakra. Expandable cheeks puffed out as the energy was given elemental form before it shot forth from the amphibian's mouth with the strength of a fire hose coupled with the speed of a rifle bullet. It might not seem like too much against an experienced Grimm...but once again this was something proportionate to the smoking toad's incredible mass.

"**Mizame Teppo (Starch Syrup Gun)!**" One moment the Nevermore was deciding how it should attack again, and the next its left wing was broken at the joint as several tons of sticky concentrated water impacted its limb. The blast was originally meant to strike it dead center but the avian had reacted just in time to avoid the deathblow...however much good that did. Still, the wing was no longer a viable option for flight and its huge body began losing altitude against its will. Twisting around, the Grimm was able to flap its unbroken arm and send another round of dangerous quills towards the toad but the spot it formerly occupied was empty since its tenant had already moved. At a speed no one that large should have been able to achieve Gamakichi had already jumped high enough to get in the Nevermore's masked face with his tanto drawn (due in part to the toad's incredibly strong legs). Using the momentum of his leap, coupled with the swing of the blade...well, the Grimm wasn't around for much longer.

Gamakichi poofed away in midair after bisecting the creature, the echoes of his voice saying he'd explain what was going on with the blond to the other toads. Naruto was thankful for his friend but had become too engrossed in finishing his task to respond with anything more than a grunt. Weiss and Ruby stood off to the side with their weapons drawn but the response was all for naught; none of the Beowolves or Ursai or even the lone King Taijitu that appeared were paying them any mind. They seemed to be only focused on attacking the boy...which suited him just fine. Although their numbers had grown again with the reinforcements, it literally did them no good.

Naruto had no sort of specialized techniques which involved handsigns to attack at a range. Thankfully the rotating maelstrom of the Rasengan was more than enough to grind through their defenses when they moved close enough and he could always throw them now if prepared properly. It wasn't just the orbs which worked though. With his high speed and power already bolstered by Kurama's energy his physical strikes were far more than enough to send them flying away with shattered bodies.

He punched one right in the gut and it folded over his arm before something within it snapped and it simply stopped moving. Its pitiful moan did nothing to stop the rest from attacking, however. There was a threat, a human, with abnormal energy that called out to them. He had to be destroyed and his power taken like all those unfortunate people that came before Naruto who fell to the dangers of the Grimm.

...that was actually a problem though when their target could move in the blink of an eye and seemed completely unaffected by anything they did. Even with the few additions from the forest there just wasn't enough to do anything significant. Having most of their numbers crushed flat in one fell swoop didn't help in any way either.

Naruto grabbed one by the leg as it leapt at him, swinging it into the ground where it steadily remained before he was already back in action with twin Rasengans in his palms. With their group dwindling fast it was only a matter of time before the Glynda's job was done. A wolf was downed with fresh spiral marks ground into its stomach. Another was hit by an invisible punch and sent barreling straight through a tree...thirtyfeet away. Three were destroyed via the Rasenkyugan (**Spiraling Absorption Sphere**) prior to the ninja reacting to a disturbance and catching a spinning buzz saw with one of Kurama's chakra arms that came shooting out of nowhere, before crushing the odd piggish Grimm like a brittle stick.

It was all so very brutal, with the jinchuriki fighting in a way he never had before save for the few times he lost control of the Kyuubi's chakra and hatred overcame him. But the creatures of Grimm were monsters, plain and simple. He didn't have to show them any mercy since it wouldn't be considered inhumane but the blue-eyed boy was still being careful. He had his watchers after all, and Ruby and Weiss were off to the side. It would be a problem if they got caught in the crossfire so the blond made sure to keep a little bit of awareness centered on them all in case something happened.

Materializing Kurama's head, the construct bit down onto an Ursa and chucked it away before the human within socked another in the jaw that put it permanently out of the fight. Grabbing two more of the malevolent beasts he slammed them together in a way similar that Sakura once did to him and Sai when she was angry. But the two shinobi were left sporting bruised skulls...while the Grimm were far worse off. Leaving them behind, once again a claw rocketed from his back but instead grabbed a spot of grass in front of a rare King Taijitu in the valley. The limb pulled and Naruto answered, his glowing form being yanked forward before he planted an illuminated sole in the side of the white half of its serpentine body and turning it into an injured, scaled rocket.

He then spun to face the last living Beowolf from the pack.

The last one alive out of the entire group, really.

It was on all fours with the rigid fur of its back raised dangerously and growling at the male. Naruto stood there, his fake jacket fanning out behind him despite the lack of wind, before he took a step forward. The simple action spooked the creature and the Grimm canine started to run. Somewhere in that lowly intelligent mind it had, the sense of self-preservation was blaring like crazy. But sadly that just couldn't happen. Naruto appeared in its path and used a spinning kick to send the Beowolf flying back towards...Naruto.

He caught it by the neck as his clone popped but there was no reason to do anything else. The monster was already starting to dissolve and _finally_ there were no more Grimm to deal with as he let it drop. They weren't even considered living beings but this just seemed...sort of wasteful. But he was protecting others by doing this and that's what really mattered.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

><p>Weiss and Ruby were completely engrossed in the fight the moment Naruto released them from his hold and jumped right back into the fray.<p>

A few of the stragglers just now reaching the devastation began thinking twice about joining the one-sided slaughter. Three Ursai, a Boarbatusk, and another Beowolf pawed the ground and tried to decide how to proceed without getting destroyed. But...standing and watching with their backs turned were two other humans completely unaware that the enemy was in their blind spots. The armored pig was the first to reach a judgment, body curling inward into a ball as it began rotating at high speed like a toothy tire. Ruby's aura awareness was the first to realize something was amiss as the fine hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she tackled Weiss out of the speeding swine's way just in time.

"Look out!"

The snooty fencer's offended cry about being shoved barely registered on the younger girl's radar as she rolled and un-slung _Crescent Rose_; the blade of the scythe dug into the ground as Ruby used it as a makeshift tripod. Grayish irises met with icy blue for a moment before breaking the silent connection to look down the sights of her sniper rifle attachment. However, instead of coming around for a second shot as Ruby expected the Boarbatusk continued spinning away on a straight path towards Naruto. She blinked in confusion at the way the beast _didn't_ come back to attack again after clearly missing the mark.

Why did the patterns all the Grimm were exhibiting not match anything she ever studied before?

A wall of ice stopped Ruby from discovering what it felt like to have a set of claws in her back as _Myrtenaster's_ Dust chambers clicked and rotated around their base. "You need to pay attention!" Weiss scolded over her partner's momentary lack of concentration, lifting her rapier from where it was stabbed into the grass. With the blade now pointed forward she used her aura to essentially to essentially create a thin trail of frost beneath her boots that allowed the petite woman shoot forward like a spear. Her lunge caused the Beowolf to fly back after taking the hit; the momentum of her movement gave Weiss the speed to jump, slash, and finish off the airborne beast before it ever hit the ground.

The Ursa next in her sights was just as unlucky and received the tip of her thin weapon right through the center of its thick chest...after the other girl made sure to blast its legs out from under it of course. The icy heiress shot Ruby a glare for thinking she would require help and said partner gave an awkward wave in response before jumping away from another attack. The Grimm may have been attracted to Naruto for some reason but they still always had time to kill them some humans.

Weiss twirled and her weapon chattered in response. From the air where her sword passed through, shards of light shot forth like bluish fireflies before impacting the two remaining Ursai squaring off against the pair of women, rattling the bears as the lights hit them hard and crystallized into more ice. While it did not kill them outright it inevitably left the duo open to a few slashes that ended their soulless lives.

Meanwhile Naruto was still smacking the few remaining Grimm around like they were ragdolls.

"How...how do you think he's doing that?" Ruby questioned quietly once her adrenaline ebbed, occasionally scanning around in case another newcomer decided they were easy pickings.

"I do not know. But it's rather fishy." Weiss remarked as Naruto's cloak split apart into two tails that grabbed a pair of the remaining Grimm and slammed them together with enough force that neither got back up. He then kicked the single King Taijitu away and, somehow, it miraculously didn't get pulverized like the rest of its brethren.

As it shook its heads to regain its senses the big snake had its own version of an epiphany. Perhaps remaining in the area wasn't such a good idea anymore. But as it turned to slither away there stood two humans in its path. They were rife with negativity, albeit on a smaller scale: confusion, nervousness, and touches of jealousy with how easily the glowing blond utterly destroyed its kind with ease. It could go around but none of the Grimm were being shown any leniency, and that would draw attention to itself and draw a target on its back.

As one final Beowolf groaned out a pathetic cry behind it, Dust bullets exploded against its scales while the Taijitu started crawling towards the girls. It was injured and so its pace wasn't as quick as it liked but there was still enough flexibility to plow through a pair of weak little students without difficulty.

"...have you ever faced one of those before?" the red-loving gal asked with a sense of urgency.

"No. But I have however read up and studied all relevant information relating to King Taijitu and completed multiple training scenarios regarding them."

"So that helps us how?"

Weiss sighed and raised _Myrtenaster _as she slipped into her form. The beast was fast approaching and it was a rather large one...something she was really conflicted about. Snakes were disturbing and unpleasant creatures in her opinion and massive ones just made it all worse. "That means theoretically they are no match for _me_."

She then back-flipped out of the way as the serpent's large weight attempted to smash her into a frigid pancake. The rapier's reinforced edge did little to pierce its resistant hide and _Crescent_ _Rose _barely did any better. And yet the Schnee's frosty projectiles were somehow able to get through the first layer at least of the Grimm's flesh, though even that was more of a superficial thing.

Upon noticing such a detail however Ruby's face lit up and she dashed over to her grumpy comrade to explain how they could win. This way they got it done and the two of them would be forced to work together instead of gradually picking away at it until it died. Yet as her plan unfolded, Weiss looked less than thrilled. Was she serious about all this? Unfortunately, the shorter girl in the large red hood stared her down with a defiant gaze and staunchly defended her ludicrous idea.

"Listen Weiss. I'm still willing to make this work, even if you seem to hate me. But Naruto's still preoccupied and it doesn't feel right asking him to help us during our test."

The silvernette still disliked her partner but...ah, she detested having to admit that the young Rose was rather good at thinking up things on the fly and adapting to the flow of the fight. Plus it really could have been worse. She could have been stuck with Jaune of all people. Closing her eyes, Weiss clenched her jaw and then matched Ruby's look with one of her own. "It's a terrible idea and in those few scant seconds we'll be left defenseless should any other Grimm sneak up on us." She then sighed again. "**But**...if we're going to survive these next four years without driving each other insane then it'll take both of us to make this partnership work."

Ruby's serious look was lost as it warmed up into a happy, albeit childish, smile. Nodding furiously she spun her transforming scythe into its firing mode and took aim while Weiss created a Dust-fueled glyph right in front of the barrel. It was a bit more difficult due to the intangible floating sigil in her crosshairs but the King Taijitu was so big and close that it didn't really matter anyways. "Preparing to fire. Keep it up until I say so."

"Yeah yeah, just don't miss." In that moment the rich, aristocratic girl's arrogance vanished and her focused features slackened and settled into a minuscule but kind smirk. "And for the record I don't hate you at all. You actually have some skill despite your age and are willing to prove you have what it takes to be a Huntress."

"...thanks, Weiss." The black/redhead felt oddly touched in that moment while her finger tightened against the trigger. As if they finally made some leeway in their 'friendship' despite the circumstances.

"I do, however, think you're an annoying dolt still in need of a large amount of maturity. And a gag over that mouth of yours sometimes."

"You could have stopped there, you know." Ruby mumbled to herself before the kickback of her gun made her close her mouth lest she bite her tongue. Shot after shot erupted from the scythe-sniper's thick barrel and traveled through the Schnee's Semblance without losing any momentum. However each Dust round became encased in a sharpened icicle as it flew. Ruby's bullets blew up on contact but couldn't make it through the Grimm's skin. Weiss's ice could pierce the scales, but barely did any damage.

Sooooooo...

As Ruby fervently hoped, the combination (plus the additional speed gained from her gun) was able to dig into the snake's flesh and then explode while bypassing most of its innate defense. Thick gouges were made in its body before the ones embedded in its skull caused enough irreparable damage to stop the King for good. She cheered and even Weiss looked satisfied over a job well done before the older girl simply had to bring up a point festering in her thoughts.

"Now while that worked, thanks to _my_ judicious use of Dust, I would like to know why you were so adamant about using our powers together like that."

"Well...I wanted to team up together. All we did was argue. But it worked didn't it? You even complemented me." Ruby said in slight embarrassment, scuffing her boot against the ground while the white-wearing teenager set her hands against her hips and shook her head.

As her ponytail swayed Weiss eventually shrugged and tilted her head to peer at Naruto. "Whatever. It worked. _Yay_. Now can we please get back before anyone notices we're missing?"

Oh...right...Ruby became so engrossed in making any progress towards a better time here at Beacon that she momentarily forgot they weren't even in the bounds of their test anymore! She began to wail in horrified realization while the whiskered male stood there with one arm extended, the last Grimm of them all held aloft and un-moving in his grasp. The Uzumaki dropped the carcass as it already started to decompose in that odd way all Grimm seemed to undergo in death and turned towards the two girls while surveying his handiwork.

There was a mountain of corpses littering the valley, all deteriorating into red and black dust. He'd held back somuch but the vale still showed signs of something overpowered running through it. Craters, and plow tracks, and a few demolished trees, but suffice to say it looked _a lot_ better than it could have been. What really caught the jinchuriki's attention though was the Grimm's residual energy. Even in death it lingered and seemingly dissipated into nature. He could feel it now thanks to sage mode and how there wasn't some other pressing issue taking his attention at the moment.

Pretty interesting.

Hopping over the corpse of the big snake (now missing chunks of its face) he jogged his way towards Ruby and Weiss while both woman looked a little winded themselves. "Okay, let's get you back. I feel Yang's energy so that's as good a place as any." Touching both girls on the shoulder, they barely got a syllable out before all three vanished on the spot. Silence reigned in the clearing except for the faint hiss of the Grimm vanishing, and the eventual sound of clicking as Fox tapped his fingers against his Scroll's holoscreen. The four members of CFVY met in the middle near the deceased Taijitu and quietly met each others' eyes.

"Well...you don't see that every day." Yatsuhashi spoke, feeling approval at the strength shown by glowing enigma. He himself could crater the ground and create a large shockwave with one swing but it took some focus on his part. Naruto was blowing things up with relative ease. And those spheres of his were so incredibly destructive and versatile.

Coco sighed. She felt like her team had just been front row at the filming of an action movie where everyone did their own stunts and it all miraculously happened in one take. "Gotta love a man who can one-shot a Grimm." the girl said blandly before her own Scroll blinked to signify she'd received a message. It was the videos Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi recorded all bundled together. Adding her own she sent them off to the Ms. Goodwitch with a short accompanied text explaining how everything was finished up on their end.

_He didn't need any backup._

"Should we tell her that there were a few unexpected extras?"

"No. Our copies will be enough evidence of that." Tapping the thin object against her palm, Coco's face took on a thoughtful look as her and her team began their trek back to Beacon. "I don't think they'll be marked down too badly anyways. I'm going out on a limb here and saying it wasn't their fault they were dragged away from the training area. For being new students Red and White showed a fair amount of teamwork from what I could tell, and discovered a way to defeat the Grimm when otherwise they couldn't do so."

Fox nudged his taller buddy as said man smiled. Something similar had happened to them back when they were raw recruits on their own test. A big old Ursa with plenty of scars and a mean streak a mile long. But the two sure showed it why it couldn't claim last year's relic site as its territory.

Reaching the edge of the forest, each person felt the need to take one last look at the former battleground. So much destruction in so little time, and yet still with enough control to decimate an ever increasing amount of Grimm with ease. If any of them could do half of what Naruto just did...the continued extermination of the monsters would be so much simpler.

* * *

><p>"Yang, slow down!"<p>

With her long hair waving behind her as she ran, the boxer punched right through a small tree trunk instead of taking the few extra seconds to go around it. She was just that sort of woman, and one that was in one hell of a hurry. "You can stay here if you want but that explosion and screaming TOAD of all things involves my sister somehow! I just know it! You heard what it said!" With its voice booming all the way to the Emerald Forest, they heard it mention Naruto clear as day as well as something about 'friends'. But what really had Yang in an uproar was that Nevermore the amphibian sliced in half like butter; before it died a speck of red fell away from it, standing out heavily against the bright blue sky. Something vibrantly white also followed the free-falling crimson dot before both were snatched up by something gold.

Blake bit her lip and vaulted over the remains of her partner's destroyed tree. The buxom girl was incredibly stubborn and seemed to become rather blind to other things when her sister was involved. She didn't know the story there but chalked it up to a lack of relevant info regarding Yang as well as sibling protectiveness, something she had no experience with. The Faunus had cared for the safety of her White Fang comrades but there was no familial love there despite Blake's back-story regarding the group. She'd always wanted them to come back from missions safe and secure, even rushing off sometimes when intel reported a bad turn to stupidly put herself in danger and lend a hand...but it was nothing like the bond between sisters or any other family members.

The amber-eyed girl was then forced to stop and jump back, automatically drawing her weapon before gasping at the sudden intrusion of both Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee. Both sneaked up on her somehow and the youngest of them all was quickly pulled into a death grip as Yang checked her out for injuries and started questioning her without pause. Who cares if Ruby was quite capable of taking care of herself? Some kooky shit just went down involving something she'd never seen before and intuition said the fifteen year old had been there in spite of the test completely taking place within the forest.

Blake's head snapped up as the branches above them rustled and a golden, caped Naruto Uzumaki landed in the clearing. His passengers were in familiar hands now after he brought them to Yang's aura signature and, nodding once to a surprised Blake, vanished in a slip of light.

"-nd you've got to tell me everything!"

"Yaaaang! I'm fine! Weiss and I worked together and we're perfectly okay!"

"Then why did you just appear out of nowhere?!"

"It was...it was _crazy_." Ruby said with finality. "I'll tell you all about it later, I promise."

"You better. I know you're a tough kid but mama still worries, ya know?" Yang grinned slightly and jerked a thumb to her chest. Ruby made to say more but Weiss pushed her way between the pair and held out her arms with an impatient look gracing her beautiful face.

"Talk later! We still have a test to finish in case you all forgot!"

Yang blinked before sticking her hand in the bulging pack hanging off her hip and pulling out a large chess piece. "Here."

"...what is that?"

"The relic we were supposed to collect. Blake has ours and since I wasn't sure what was going on with you, I grabbed the matching horsey just in case."

Ruby cheered and hugged her sister gleefully before snatching the knight and holding it aloft. "Yay! That means we passed!"

"...put it on record that I'm not okay with this."

Blake's pale lips turned up slightly at Weiss' troubled expression over the situation. "Technically speaking, all we were tasked with doing was finding a partner, discovering the relic location, and then taking one back to the school."

"I said I'm not okay with it, not that I wouldn't do it." The heiress snapped, causing the concealed feline to frown. In spite of her inherent dislike for people named Schnee she was still trying to be polite.

Weiss was making it rather hard to do though.

"Anyways, Blake is right. We did what we were tasked to do. Fighting the Grimm was just a side objective not actually relevant to passing."

Rubbing the space between her eyes, the fencer reached over and pulled the oversized game piece out of the hooded girl's hands and started to walk away just as the other four students in their little grouping finally tracked down Yang and Blake. Jaune's face lit up at the sight of Weiss but she walked right past him in a huff. "Except that they're going to know we didn't find the relics and take one for ourselves. But I don't care anymore. Let's just go. I just want to get out of this stupid forest." she grouched while stepping away.

Well. There was too much madness going on when it was merely supposed to be an initiation test for possible Hunters...so Blake agreed with the silvernette on that point at least.

* * *

><p>Blake and Ruby stood at attention in front of Ozpin's desk, the younger fidgeting in her boots while the older wondered what could possibly be the reason for their summoning. The teams announcement was literally minutes away and they were expected to, you know, be in the auditorium for that very reason. The headmaster too, but he was sitting there with his hands clasped in front of his face watching the two females with cool eyes.<p>

"Since we're short on time I'll keep this rather brief. Ruby Rose. Blake Belladonna. Normally you would learn about your fate here at Beacon Academy with the rest of the students but on the rare occasion there comes a time where things do not fit with protocol. Besides that, I believe you can keep this a secret, at least for the few moments between now and our journey to join with everyone else so I will not mince words: both of you will be on the same team. Congratulations."

Ruby fidgeted again but she was trying not to smile. So she and Yang were going to be together anyways! Blake too, which wasn't so bad.

...and Weiss.

However her counterpart just appeared quizzical. "I don't understand why this couldn't wait, sir."

"No, I expect you wouldn't but allow me to elaborate. Based off your trials, as I said you and your partners will be on the same team. The problem we've run into is the fact that both of you have shown the most leadership out of you four and therein lies the problem. On the rare occasion this sort of occurrence happens and we cannot decide on who would be the more appropriate leader, I simply leave it up to those involved. So." Ozpin finally lowered his hands and leaned forward. "Which of you would like to be in charge?"

He seriously expected them to choose just like that? With such a small span of time? Ruby squeaked in surprise, more so from the fact they believed she was director material and Blake's jaw fell open. This was an incredibly heavy decision.

"W-why do you think I'm fit to be a leader?"

"Reviewing the footage of your fight against the Deathstalker-"

"You fought one of those?!" Ruby snapped her head to the right as she gazed wide-eyed at the ravenette.

"-it was you who coordinated everyone together to keep it immobilized."

Despite her aloof persona, the teen felt her face heat up. "I just had the idea to stop it from attacking. Jaune was the one who figured out how to finish it off based on what we were doing. I didn't exactly think that far ahead."

"Regardless, you still showed the aptitude for leadership. It's why you're here after all. To _learn_. I don't expect any young student in my school to already possess ironclad experience in coordinating teams."

"What about me sir?!"

The pale-haired man tilted his neck and regarded Ruby quietly before a small smile touched his lips. "Your case if similar to Ms. Belladonna's. Though it was on a smaller scale, and with only one other person instead of a squad, you matched each others' styles to take down a larger Grimm which otherwise would have caused you trouble by yourselves."

The hooded teen felt warmth in her chest at the compliment but that suddenly turned to a pit of ice upon realizing he'd known they left the boundaries of the test. Yet...he wasn't telling her she failed? Something didn't seem right, and her face must have showed it because the man chuckled.

"We monitor our charges, remember Ms. Rose?" Although he kept the mystery of 'how' he and Glynda knew so a secret. Ozpin had the feeling Ruby and her new friends would find out soon anyways. Steeling himself, his voice remained light but the atmosphere around the headmaster seemed to thicken. "But it's now time to decide. So...which of you believes they have what it takes to lead your squad?"

Blake stared at Ozpin. Ruby stared at Ozpin. Blake turned to Ruby. Ruby copied her motions and five seconds later the two opened their mouths and ultimately decided their fates.

"I do."

"Not me."

The girl with red and black hair jerked in shock. "W-what? You don't want the job Blake?"

"No. I may be able to think up tactics but I just don't think I'm leader potential. " The monochrome Hunter's face fell the barest of margins and she looked conflicted over her own choice of words. "I'm...not really one for being in the spotlight anyways."

"Then it's settled." Ozpin said before Ruby could comment on that look. "Congratulations Ruby Rose on your promotion. Remember to act surprised at the ceremony, and listen to your second-in-command here. A good captain may take the lead, but still knows when to pay attention to her friends and subordinates."

He then promptly ignored the cat-girl's sputtering over her own advancement and ushered the two into the elevator. Did she really think he would just let the potential she showed fade into the background? This little conversation in and of itself was a minor test as well. The man wasn't lying when he stated it happened before and he'd let the students figure it out between themselves. Like Blake said herself, she could plan but didn't want such burden on her shoulders. Ruby was young but willing to still take the risk to grow as a leader. Right there proved which of them had a better mindset expected of a team captain.

But if Ms. Belladonna didn't want to coordinate from the front, then she'd do so from the sidelines.

He really was a devious bastard...but Ozpin had knew what he was doing.

* * *

><p>"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. You four retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will be referred to as Team CRDL (Cardinal)...led by Cardin Winchester." Ozpin announced to the cheering crowd as the four new members of CRDL stood at attention. Their faces were imposed on a pair of large holographic screens floating above the podium, for those in the farther seats of the darkened auditorium unable to properly make out the proud freshman on the wooden stage.<p>

As the screen wiped, the four males made their way off the stage while Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and Jaune stood at the edge of stairs in varying degrees of nervousness. The orange-head girl showed the most excitement, wiggling her behind back and forth with a wide smile. Ren and Pyrrha looked the most composed, and the lone blond was doing his best to not lose it. He was in control but internally he hoped nothing would happen to embarrass him.

The group finally marched their way up once the headmaster looked directly at them. Taking the spots Cardin and his friends stood in only moments before, they followed their lead and stood with their backs straight and arms behind their backs. "Jaune Arc. Lie Rien. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rooks and so you all shall be known as Beacon Academy's Team JNPR (Juniper)...led by Jaune Arc." Leaning in slightly Ozpin lowered his voice. "Congratulations young man."

Nora giggled and hugged her best friend while at the other side of the line, Jaune looked completely taken aback. The redhead at his side smiled proudly before giving him a gentle punch on the shoulder...which still sent the male tumbling to the ground. She gasped quietly as Jaune looked up at her from where he now sat as a few rumbles of laughter came from the crowds. Feeling sheepish, Pyrrha helped the armored teen to his feet before the newly minted Team JNPR vacated the stage.

Ruby was bouncing on the balls of her feet as her friends strode by, nearly charging onto the stage when the time finally came for the last announcement of the school year.

"Finally, we have Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. And Yang Xiao Long. You four retrieved the white knight pieces and so from today onward you shall take the name of Team RWBY (Ruby)...led by Ruby Rose." Yang pulled her sister into a hearty embrace while Weiss' head snapped to the side. She was incredibly surprised but the joy at passing tempered the envious feeling worming its way through her heart. She dearly wanted to be in charge...but for now, at least, the heiress would let this turn of events play out for awhile.

Naruto clapped along with the rest of the students, somewhere in the middle of the throng of upper-level Hunters while he watched the proceedings with a curious eye. At the moment the ninja was somewhere between paying attention and being lost in the realm of his own memories. It was just like team assignments back at the ninja academy and pangs of remembrance kept a soft smile on his face. It was only about four years since that day but still seemed so very long ago. Back when he couldn't ever do anything right. Sasuke's biggest goal was to kill Itachi and nothing more. And Sakura had no talent in anything but book smarts.

Now look at what they had accomplished.

As the masses started to disperse Naruto turned on his heel and started making his way back to Ozpin's quarters for the umpteenth time. Glynda has sequestered herself in the office while the headmaster was doing his job, going over footage taken that Naruto hadn't even been aware of. He thought those people staying out of the fight were there to watch him and perhaps lend a hand if he was overrun but apparently there had been more to it than that. But surveillance? Really? It's as if no one had any faith in Naruto's ability!

He kinda wanted to see what his asskicking looked like from an outsider's point of view though.

It had to be awesome sight.

* * *

><p><strong>Hooray, a new chapter. Sorry for the wait but my fall semester was rather homeworkessay-oriented and I really had no time. One more semester though...another busy one. But despite my Bachelor's in Criminal Justice I'm interesting in becoming an author. I already started a manuscript for a novel but I simply have the prologue written so far. The plot is there, just not much time to write it so far. Plus there's so many different ways I've seen to format the documents I hope I get it right.**

**I might have either the next chapter of Mages or Skill Set done before the new year...but it really depends. Regardless, merry Christmas or whatever you celebrate and thanks for reading my stuff.**


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